Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.0% in Q2, bringing its total holdings to 76,579 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $2.31, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.16 and generating revenue of $96.43 billion.
• Insider sales occurred recently, with CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares, which reflects a 1.34% decrease in his ownership of the company.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,579 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,981,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the second quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Financial Council LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Council LLC now owns 5,800 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enzi Wealth boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.7%

GOOGL stock opened at $259.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $261.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $236.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.20.

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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