Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by MBL Wealth LLC

Key Points

• MBL Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 43.0% during the first quarter, owning over 17,340 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Brokerage firms have varied opinions on Alphabet; Phillip Securities downgraded the stock, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target from $232.00 to $260.00, showing mixed market sentiment.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8th.

MBL Wealth LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 43.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,340 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $238.85 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $240.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $199.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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.

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