Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Sells 59 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $241.38 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $242.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares in the company, valued at $492,281,408.64. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 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.