Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,497 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,134 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.7% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $41,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. REDW Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the second quarter. REDW Wealth LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,325 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 1,625 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the second quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LongView Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the second quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 5,126 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $324.81.

Alphabet Trading Up 6.3%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $318.47 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $264.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.82. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $319.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $3,629,725.80. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 227,952 shares of company stock valued at $58,896,009. Company insiders own 12.99% 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.