Everstar Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. by 432.1% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 10,029 shares, bringing its total holdings to 12,350 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Alphabet's stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with Citizens Jmp upgrading it to a strong-buy rating and Oppenheimer raising its price target from $235 to $270.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which represents an annualized payout of $0.84, yielding about 0.4%.

Everstar Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 432.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,350 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,029 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $240.39. 9,576,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,926,240. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $200.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.98. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $242.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

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.