Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,143 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.4% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. New Hampshire Trust boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP lifted its stake in Alphabet by 58.4% during the first quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 4.5% during the third quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the third quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $171.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $126.93 and a one year high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 230,244 shares of company stock valued at $37,776,954 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.