ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 18,470 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 462,720 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 18,470 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $72,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clark Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 48.5% in the 1st quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 24.6% in the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 13.5% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 107,367 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $16,774,000 after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 184.5% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 843,591 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $131,794,000 after buying an additional 547,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,885 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,263,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

Alphabet stock opened at $180.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. 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%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.