Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Western Pacific Wealth Management LP

Western Pacific Wealth Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,072 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,447 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.2% of Western Pacific Wealth Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $175.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. Corporate 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.