Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Boosted by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.5% during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 96,083 shares valued at approximately $16.93 million.
• Alphabet reported $2.31 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.15, alongside a revenue of $96.43 billion.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock worth over $8.12 million, reducing his ownership by 1.35% after the transaction.

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,083 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,164 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $259.92 on Friday. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $236.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $261.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. HSBC assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,369,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $592,760,192.85. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet 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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