101,406 Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Purchased by Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired 101,406 shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) worth approximately $15.84 million, making it their second-largest investment position.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., significantly increased their stakes in Alphabet, indicating strong interest in the stock.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing a dividend yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 101,406 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,843,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 11.3% of Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $2,622,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 18,562.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,299,725,000 after buying an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 9.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,971,861,000 after buying an additional 9,243,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $786,942,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $207.95 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $211.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $188.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

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.

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