First Interstate Bank Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Interstate Bank lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,467 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of First Interstate Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 497,874,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,144,172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,064,073 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,011,412,000 after buying an additional 238,403 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,178,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,310,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,412,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,344,778,000 after acquiring an additional 597,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $161.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.98.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.99, for a total transaction of $600,175.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,655.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.