Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Holdings Trimmed by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,657 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,610 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.1% of Tufton Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Tufton Capital Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $0.88 on Friday, hitting $194.08. 31,074,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,020,362. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.33 and a 200-day moving average of $174.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend 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

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.