Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by West Oak Capital LLC

Key Points

• West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 5.8%, now holding a total of 25,072 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million.
• Alphabet has seen a mix of analyst ratings, with Barclays maintaining a "buy" rating and recent target price adjustments, while the average consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $230.35.
• Insider activity includes CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares, reducing his ownership by 1.34% and indicating ongoing insider trading at the company.

West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,072 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.7% of West Oak Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. West Oak Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LongView Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the second quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 5,126 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Kooman & Associates grew its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 4,127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 9,956 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.35.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $598,149,304. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

GOOG opened at $252.34 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $256.70. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company 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 posted $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

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.

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