First Business Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Business Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.7% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% during the second quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the second quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 6,309 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $159.81 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The company has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $165.62 and a 200-day moving average of $165.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at $50,765,346. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606 over the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.08.

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.