Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 185 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,575 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 31,967 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,088,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $204,262,000. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 246.2% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $175.88 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.57 and its 200-day moving average is $176.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.88.

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.