Busey Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Busey Bank trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 181,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of Busey Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $32,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,724,251,000 after buying an additional 7,275,757 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,980,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374,756 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Alphabet by 39,754.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 6,025,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $841,725,000 after acquiring an additional 6,010,548 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 143.7% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,072,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,288,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170,229 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $162.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.55.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,209,888.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was 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 owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,209,888.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,565 shares of company stock valued at $26,823,893 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.