Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Partners LLC

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.3% of Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $787,000. New Hampshire Trust boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 1,951,860 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $272,655,000 after purchasing an additional 200,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $166.99 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total transaction of $4,113,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 193,725 shares of company stock valued at $31,933,031 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.35.

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.