Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 5.4%, selling 225,613 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 3,932,704 shares worth $614 million.
• Several large investors increased their positions in Alphabet, with increases ranging from 4.3% to 31.9%, highlighting continued institutional interest in the company.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15, reflecting a modest annual yield of 0.43% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,932,704 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 225,613 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $614,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $195.47. The stock had a trading volume of 12,807,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,204,488. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $177.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.38.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.