Weybosset Research & Management LLC Sells 1,627 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Weybosset Research & Management LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,908 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,627 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 3.2% of Weybosset Research & Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Weybosset Research & Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $170.03. 14,691,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,997,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

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.