Absher Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,744 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,561 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,744 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.4% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 497,874,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,144,172,000 after purchasing an additional 4,064,073 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,724,251,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275,757 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,011,412,000 after acquiring an additional 238,403 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,178,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,310,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $158.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $30,139,931. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.