Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 88,247 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 18.6%, selling 88,247 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 387,232 shares valued at approximately $60.5 million.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing expectations, with total revenue reaching $96.43 billion, representing a 13.8% increase from the previous year.
• On September 15th, Alphabet will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.84 and a yield of 0.4%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,232 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 88,247 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $60,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $209.16 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $188.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $211.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

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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