Platform Technology Partners Sells 218 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Platform Technology Partners lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,996 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of Platform Technology Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. BankPlus Trust Department increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 4,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 1,732,120 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $267,855,000 after buying an additional 27,213 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 12,218 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 58,537 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,052,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 10,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $185.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $172.90 and its 200 day moving average is $173.01.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 261,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Alphabet from $171.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.68.

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.