Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC Sells 120 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $179.08 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $168.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.77. The company has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $203.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.95.

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.