Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 26.4% in Q1, owning 23,013 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million.
• Alphabet's recent earnings report beat analysts' expectations with a net margin of 31.12% and revenue of $96.43 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet, marking a 1.29% decrease in his ownership, while insiders sold a total of 274,819 shares over the last 90 days.

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,013 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,806 shares during the period. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $2,622,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 18,562.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Alphabet by 9.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 9,243,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded down $2.30 on Wednesday, hitting $200.19. The company had a trading volume of 13,945,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,800,281. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

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. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272 over the last quarter. 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.