Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Chelsea Counsel Co.’s 7th Largest Position

Chelsea Counsel Co. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,364 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.8% of Chelsea Counsel Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Chelsea Counsel Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $245.76 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $256.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.41 and a 200-day moving average of $187.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. 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:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. HSBC initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.98.

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.