Bensler LLC Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Bensler LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,510 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,245 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $176.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.27. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.