Menlo Advisors LLC Sells 440 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Menlo Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 79,063 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 440 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 8.0% of Menlo Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Menlo Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $160.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.46 and a 12-month high of $193.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.86.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 202,667 shares of company stock valued at $34,341,581. Insiders own 12.99% 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.