Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 6,224 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Central Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,409 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,224 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.4% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Meritage Group LP increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $179.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.35 and a 52 week high of $180.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.05 and its 200 day moving average is $152.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total value of $105,566.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,870.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,958 shares of company stock valued at $22,383,553 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.