Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Janney Capital Management LLC

Janney Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,587 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,426 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $245.35 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $256.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $221.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $229,863.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,294 shares in the company, valued at $4,171,312.80. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.76.

Alphabet 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.