Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 11.0%, resulting in ownership of over 2 million shares valued at approximately $328.8 million.
• Alphabet's insider, Kavitark Ram Shriram, sold 15,000 shares for $2.79 million, reflecting a 5.87% decrease in his position.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with the average target now set at $221.44 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,126,417 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 211,213 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Focus Partners Wealth's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Alphabet were worth $328,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 79,160 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,985,000 after acquiring an additional 4,756 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 5,470 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.44.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $1.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $240.37. 30,544,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,138,924. The business's fifty day moving average is $200.66 and its 200 day moving average is $177.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $242.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.