M. Kraus & Co Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

M. Kraus & Co reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,013 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 736 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.4% of M. Kraus & Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. M. Kraus & Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Vantage Point Financial LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.3% in the second quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81,349 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,463 shares in the last quarter. Trevian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Trevian Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 295,786 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,469,000 after purchasing an additional 143,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 102.5% during the second quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 37,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after acquiring an additional 19,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $237.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $226.97 and its 200 day moving average is $189.99. The company has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $256.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were 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 was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 276,338 shares of company stock worth $59,062,683. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.