Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Trimmed by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,777 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,020 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.7% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $34,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 121.3% in the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares in the company, valued at $592,760,192.85. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $260.51 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $262.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $237.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 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 business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.68.

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.