Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Sells 15,377 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 45.5% in the first quarter, selling 15,377 shares and now holding 18,413 shares, which accounts for about 2.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and reflecting a payout ratio of just 8.95%.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue growth of 13.8% year-over-year, amounting to $96.43 billion.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 45.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,413 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,377 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.4% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Alphabet by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after buying an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. SIH Partners LLLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Harvest Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in Alphabet by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 15,983 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,044,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $202.49 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.19 and a 200-day moving average of $174.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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