Jackson Square Capital LLC Acquires 14,704 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 38.9% during the second quarter, now owning 52,494 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million.
• Alphabet's quarterly earnings surpassed analyst expectations, reporting $2.31 earnings per share and $96.43 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• The company's stock recently experienced a 1.1% increase, with a current market cap of $3.08 trillion and a 52-week high of $256.00.

Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,494 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,704 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.1% of Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 13,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.54.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

GOOGL stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.72. 55,452,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,316,584. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $209.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 $96.43 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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.