Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

Key Points

• W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. by 17.1%, holding 21,813 shares valued at $3.37 million, making it the firm's 11th largest position.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing expectations, and achieved $96.43 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 8.95% and a yield of 0.4%.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,813 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,506 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.3% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $203.26. 19,473,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,646,953. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.95 and a 200-day moving average of $173.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 274,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,674,273 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.