Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,193 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 340 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Milestone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Milestone Wealth LLC now owns 380 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Schubert & Co lifted its stake in Alphabet by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 498 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 27.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $138.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.45 and a 52 week high of $139.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.50.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $74.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 23.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alphabet from $123.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Alphabet from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $130.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Ann Mather sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.42, for a total value of $46,139.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,700 shares in the company, valued at $570,674. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 31,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.82, for a total transaction of $3,649,456.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,364 shares in the company, valued at $626,622.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann Mather sold 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.42, for a total transaction of $46,139.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,700 shares in the company, valued at $570,674. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,092 shares of company stock worth $12,221,941 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% 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, hardware, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.