BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Sells 500 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,722 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 580,897.4% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 135,087,705 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,963,208,000 after buying an additional 135,064,454 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,971,861,000 after buying an additional 9,243,959 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,334,852,000 after buying an additional 1,098,996 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,380,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,183,979,000 after acquiring an additional 440,526 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.0%

GOOG stock opened at $246.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $256.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.89 and its 200-day moving average is $187.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.33.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $7,910,825.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,699,785.79. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.