Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Chelsea Counsel Co.

Chelsea Counsel Co. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.2% of Chelsea Counsel Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Chelsea Counsel Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network lifted its position in Alphabet by 5.3% in the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 115.7% in the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 214,392 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,031,000 after purchasing an additional 115,003 shares during the period. Finally, Members Trust Co lifted its position in Alphabet by 84.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.33.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $246.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $256.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.