Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,333,489 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 333,092 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.4% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $411,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $323.44 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.17 and its 200-day moving average is $216.20. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $328.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $233.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Melius Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.84.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $694,638.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,725.80. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total transaction of $8,129,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,369,619 shares in the company, valued at $592,760,192.85. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 225,174 shares of company stock worth $58,095,223. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.