Bellecapital International Ltd. Sells 2,466 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Bellecapital International Ltd. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,671 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,466 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.0% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Burt Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 5,307 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $174.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $162.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.61. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.75.

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.