Graypoint LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Graypoint LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,630 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,552 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Kidder Stephen W raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 3,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hill Island Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $183.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,695,000. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 183,343 shares of company stock worth $31,296,140 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.40.

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.