ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,010 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,759 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $177.62. The stock had a trading volume of 29,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,781,916. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.13.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.