S&CO Inc. Has $14.79 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

S&CO Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,662 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,401 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.0% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $196.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. Insiders own 11.64% 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.