Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,637 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 910 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.9% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.8 %

Alphabet stock opened at $172.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.90 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

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.