Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Cut by Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 3.0% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 9,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.1% during the first quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 1,001,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $151,100,000 after buying an additional 160,884 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 176,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,582,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its holdings in Alphabet by 7.4% in the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 24,861 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.4% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,709,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $185.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.80. The company has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.35 and a 12-month high of $186.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 123,788 shares of company stock valued at $21,143,403. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.66.

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.