Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 96,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 859 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $165.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $182.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 217,592 shares of company stock valued at $35,922,911 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.