Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Increased by Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc

Key Points

• Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 16.4%, owning 115,036 shares valued at approximately $17.79 million, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Analysts are optimistic about Alphabet's stock performance, with several firms raising price targets, including Barclays, which increased theirs from $220 to $235, and Oppenheimer from $185 to $200.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the dividend payout ratio at 8.95%, reflecting ongoing shareholder value initiatives.

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 16.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,036 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,191 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.4% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. 17 Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,632 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. CacheTech Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 19,344 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 39,709 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,141,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 90.1% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 17,840 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,453 shares during the period. Finally, George Kaiser Family Foundation acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Roth Capital upped their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued 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 $211.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $199.75 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.37.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 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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