Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Lowered by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,474 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.5% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,210 shares of company stock worth $41,742,155 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.31.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $230.66 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $193.49 and its 200 day moving average is $174.80. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $231.31.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

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.