First Heartland Consultants Inc. Trims Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 30.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,398 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,656 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during 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 buying an additional 7,275,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 238,403 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,412,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,344,778,000 after purchasing an additional 597,756 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,465,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,274,184,000 after purchasing an additional 418,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Alphabet by 9.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 23,263,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,237,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,476 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $169.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.35.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.