Optas LLC Sells 1,190 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Optas LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 125,155 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,190 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 5.2% of Optas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M. Kraus & Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.1% during the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.67, for a total value of $113,668.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,764.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,788 shares of company stock worth $21,143,403. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price (down previously from $182.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.66.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3 %

Alphabet stock opened at $185.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.17. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.35 and a 1-year high of $186.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

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.