Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Reduced by Sterling Financial Planning Inc.

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,774 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,371 shares during the period. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $259.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $236.72 and its 200-day moving average is $195.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $261.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.55.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total transaction of $25,042.39. Following the sale, the director owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.