Columbia Asset Management Sells 90 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Columbia Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,715 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.3% of Columbia Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $7,910,825.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,699,785.79. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $246.43 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $256.70. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $220.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.33.

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.