Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 2,645 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,645 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,839,604 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $305,098,000 after purchasing an additional 33,405 shares in the last quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.1% in the third quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 28,978 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,806,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Royal Harbor Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the third quarter. Royal Harbor Partners LLC now owns 18,881 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,131,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.3% in the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 70,991 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $172.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 8.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.