Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,535 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,456 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Essex Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,835 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 242,552 shares of company stock worth $40,287,253 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $178.35. 21,982,048 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,174,885. The business's 50 day moving average price is $163.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.90 and a 1-year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.