RFG Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• RFG Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.4%, now holding 73,598 shares valued at approximately $12.97 million.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with Needham & Company and Cantor Fitzgerald setting new targets at $260 and $265 respectively, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider transactions reveal that CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for about $8.13 million, reducing his stake by 1.35% amidst a trend of significant insider selling.

RFG Advisory LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,598 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,820 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. New Street Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $275.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Alphabet from $201.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.20.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total transaction of $8,129,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $592,760,192.85. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.7%

GOOGL opened at $259.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $261.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

About Alphabet

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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