Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $11.11 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,976 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,688 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 3.0% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Alphabet by 14.4% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275,757 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,980,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,374,756 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in Alphabet by 39,754.9% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 6,010,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 143.7% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 4,170,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $159.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.13. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for 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 period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.08.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.