Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Holdings Cut by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 243,475 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,875 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.3% of Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $38,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Equity Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.1% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 9,213 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in Alphabet by 19.3% during the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 24,336 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,802,000 after buying an additional 3,945 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 10.8% in the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 20,517 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 60,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,527,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XY Planning Network Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $281,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,070 shares of company stock worth $37,745,632. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $167.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.31 and a 200 day moving average of $176.39. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.88.

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.