Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by Appaloosa LP

Key Points

• Appaloosa LP increased its position in Alphabet Inc. by 6.8%, now holding 2,010,000 shares valued at approximately $314 million.
• Alphabet's quarterly earnings report beat expectations, posting $2.31 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.12, with revenue of $96.43 billion.
• The company announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,010,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 128,037 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.7% of Appaloosa LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Appaloosa LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $314,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock traded up $2.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.17. 26,091,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,868,892. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $236.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

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.