Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 3,178 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 23.2%, selling 3,178 shares and leaving them with 10,518 shares valued at approximately $1.64 million.
• Several large investors raised their stakes in Alphabet Inc., with notable increases including Members Trust Co growing its holdings by 84.7% in the first quarter.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15th, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,518 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,178 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. jvl associates llc increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Members Trust Co increased its holdings in Alphabet by 84.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $200.62 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.87.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business'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 $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company 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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