Activest Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 29.1%, now owning 8,020 shares worth $1.25 million as of the end of the recent quarter.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 15th.
• Alphabet's quarterly earnings showed a 13.8% year-over-year revenue increase, with EPS of $2.31, surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.12.

Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 29.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,020 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. Activest Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. jvl associates llc raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Members Trust Co raised its stake in Alphabet by 84.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 2,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. 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 note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.53. 24,667,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,823,590. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $215.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company 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.