Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,893,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 358,802 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.1% of Axa S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $714,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.74, for a total value of $4,201,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,227,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $415,941,874.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.74, for a total transaction of $4,201,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,227,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $415,941,874.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,590,960. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,367 shares of company stock worth $34,079,756. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $163.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.46 and a 1 year high of $193.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.86.

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.