Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Key Points

• Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 1.3%, owning a total of 110,623 shares valued at approximately $19.5 million, making it their 12th largest investment.
• Alphabet's stock is currently trading at around $244.05 with a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, and the company reported a net margin of 31.12% alongside a quarterly earnings per share of $2.31.
• Alphabet has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.3% with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,623 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.3% of Essex Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,187,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,637,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $244.05 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day moving average is $217.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.83. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 257,866 shares of company stock valued at $52,363,610. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $201.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.44.

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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