Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,702 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.3% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $165.70 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.46 and a twelve month high of $193.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.12. 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:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the 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 owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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.