Wharton Business Group LLC Sells 2,018 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Wharton Business Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,466 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,018 shares during the period. Wharton Business Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. 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 during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $171.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 8.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 186,124 shares of company stock valued at $31,374,030. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

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.