Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 353,077 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,224,890 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 353,077 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $191,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $3.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $173.98. The stock had a trading volume of 32,365,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,579,241. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $165.77 and its 200 day moving average is $176.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

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.