Spartan Planning & Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Spartan Planning & Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $245.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $221.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.76.

Alphabet 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.