Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 78,347 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,104 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.5% of Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 5,307 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

GOOGL stock opened at $176.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.52 and its 200 day moving average is $174.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638 in the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.