Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Sells 1,875 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,987 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,875 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.2% of Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors' holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hutchinson Capital Management CA grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 3,555 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.94.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $167.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.74. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.90, for a total value of $5,066,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,652,696 shares in the company, valued at $413,555,306.40. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total transaction of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,544.70. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,744 shares of company stock worth $20,968,366 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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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