Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 401,263 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,709 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.6% of Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $62,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $204.91 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $185.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.