Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Essex Bank

Key Points

• Essex Bank increased its Alphabet stake by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,063 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 34,793 shares worth about $10.9 million.
• Alphabet reported strong first-quarter results, with earnings of $5.11 per share versus estimates of $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping analyst expectations.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $362.73.

Essex Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,793 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,063 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.4% of Essex Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Essex Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.58 and a twelve month high of $398.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $320.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.53. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world's largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.73.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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