Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $7.13 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,896 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,980,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374,756 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,441,917,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,684,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,857,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416,328 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,220,857 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,316,902,000 after buying an additional 1,472,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,910,194 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,876,605,000 after buying an additional 874,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $185.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.58. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.35 and a 52-week high of $186.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,870.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at $663,107.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 146,284 shares of company stock worth $24,534,393. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus increased their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.69.

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.