Avity Investment Management Inc. Sells 11,789 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 11,789 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $182.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.35 and a fifty-two week high of $186.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.85 and a 200 day moving average of $154.44.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,107.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total value of $3,502,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,012,608.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,344 shares of company stock valued at $23,920,676. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GOOGL. Wedbush lifted their target price on Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.66.

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.