Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by LifePlan Financial LLC

LifePlan Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,824 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $179.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.87.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total transaction of $5,553,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,620,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $447,712,890.52. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.95.

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.