Commerce Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Commerce Bank lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 634,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,190 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $106,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 6,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 22.2% during the third quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 15.6% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 311,802 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,130,000 after acquiring an additional 42,016 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $4,519,000. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 4,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $179.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.15 and a 200 day moving average of $171.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.40 and a 1-year high of $193.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $3,442,233.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,206.90. The trade was a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. Company 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, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.