Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 240,406 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,812 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 5.1% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $43,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,264,112. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 217,592 shares of company stock valued at $35,922,911 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $165.86 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.14.

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.