Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $245.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.86. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $236.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $201.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,838 shares of company stock worth $53,070,333. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.