Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 30.3% during the second quarter, making it the fund's second largest position at 6.3% of its total portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Founders Grove Wealth Partners and Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co, also raised their positions in Alphabet during the same period, reflecting increased confidence in the company's stock.
• Analysts have given Alphabet a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with recent price targets ranging from $260.00 to $310.00, indicating a positive outlook for the company.

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 30.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,398 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,549 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 6.3% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,139 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its position in Alphabet by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 160,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,405,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 33,886 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,011,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,661 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,873,000 after buying an additional 3,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $319,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the sale, the director owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,202,258.92. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 953 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $229,863.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,294 shares in the company, valued at $4,171,312.80. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,372 shares of company stock worth $55,110,740 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOG. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.68.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $253.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $257.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $232.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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.

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