CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 7,089 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

CENTRAL TRUST Co cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 307,821 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,089 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.2% of CENTRAL TRUST Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $51,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.0% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 7,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,491 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18.9% during the first quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 3,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 53,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,142,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the first quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $169.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.20. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted 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 net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated 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, October 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.51.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total transaction of $234,331.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,516,745.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,052 shares of company stock worth $38,086,723. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.