Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,422,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 23,725 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Comerica Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $219,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $207.14 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $210.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $188.07 and a 200-day moving average of $173.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Westpark Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.