Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Wright Investors Service Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 37.4% during Q2, making it the firm's 9th largest position, worth approximately $7.28 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong Q2 with $2.31 EPS, exceeding expectations, and has a robust revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter.
• Insider selling was noted, with CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares valued at over $8 million, reducing his ownership in the company.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 37.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,318 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,243 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $252.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $256.00.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.31.

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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