Xcel Wealth Management LLC Sells 19,628 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Xcel Wealth Management LLC sold 19,628 shares of Alphabet Inc., reducing its stake by 24.7% and holding a total of 59,763 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Analyst upgrades saw price targets for Alphabet raised significantly, with Moffett Nathanson increasing their target from $230 to $295, while the stock retains a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy'.
• Insider trading reports highlighted that CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares worth over $7.4 million, reflecting a 1.32% decrease in his position.

Xcel Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,763 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 19,628 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 3.0% of Xcel Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Xcel Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 307.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,302,644 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,593,201,000 after acquiring an additional 7,774,811 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,783,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,473,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Alphabet by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,034,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,537,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.44.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,866 shares of company stock valued at $52,363,610 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $246.54 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $256.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $215.93 and its 200-day moving average is $183.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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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