Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Decreased by Orca Investment Management LLC

Orca Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,431 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 6.3% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $194.08 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $176.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.