Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Webster Bank N. A. has decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.7%, now holding 25,480 shares valued at approximately $4.52 million.
• Alphabet recently reported Q2 earnings of $2.31 per share, exceeding estimates, along with a total revenue of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.84 with a dividend yield of 0.3%.

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,480 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOG opened at $241.38 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $242.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $202.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company 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 firm's quarterly 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. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's 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. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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