Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 5.0% during the first quarter, holding 38,413 shares valued at approximately $5.94 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.
• Analyst ratings for Alphabet show strong support, with four analysts giving a Strong Buy rating and the average price target set at $222.33.

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,413 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,016 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.5% of Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $235.00 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $235.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.33.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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