WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• WCG Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 12.7%, owning 24,761 shares valued at approximately $3.87 million after the sale.
• Alphabet's latest quarterly earnings report showed a net income of $2.31 per share, exceeding expectations and marking a 13.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, scheduled for payment on September 15, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,761 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,590 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after purchasing an additional 20,855 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,663,000. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 14,996 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 53,459 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $206.72 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $187.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $209.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of Alphabet 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 in the company, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.