Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 181 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,179 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,044 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 31,967 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,088,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $204,262,000. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 14,828 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,824,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $170.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.27.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,533 shares of company stock valued at $26,772,774 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.94.

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.