First Interstate Bank Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Interstate Bank reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,973 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.7% of First Interstate Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $175.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,471,141. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.