M Holdings Securities Inc. Buys 1,507 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 4.2%, now owning 37,082 shares valued at approximately $5.79 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with $2.31 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.12 and a revenue of $96.43 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

M Holdings Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,082 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.0% of M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.19. 13,945,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,800,281. The firm's fifty day moving average is $186.19 and its 200-day moving average is $174.71. 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 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the 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 owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 242,319 shares of company stock worth $44,243,272. Corporate 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.