Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Midland Wealth Advisors LLC

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,665 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.2% of Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,025,322,000 after buying an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 16,993.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,898,000 after purchasing an additional 15,968,487 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $176.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 261,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock valued at $32,036,638 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.