Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,830 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224,050 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,830 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.4% of Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $41,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.9 %

Alphabet stock opened at $164.64 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.46 and a 52 week high of $193.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.79.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.74, for a total value of $4,201,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,227,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $415,941,874.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 202,667 shares of company stock worth $33,964,256. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.86.

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.