Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 98.2%, owning 56,119 shares worth approximately $9.95 million by the end of the second quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., also increased their holdings in Alphabet during the first quarter, highlighting a strong interest in the stock.
• Alphabet recently declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 0.3% yield, with a low payout ratio of 8.95%, indicating potential for future dividend growth.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 98.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,119 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 27,811 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

Alphabet stock traded up $2.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $255.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,503,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,489,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $210.08 and its 200 day moving average is $181.61. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $256.70. 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 released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 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, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.