North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $14.86 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,592 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,323 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $162.14 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

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.