Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Holdings Lifted by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 9.5%, now owning 384,780 shares valued at approximately $67.81 million.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.84 and a yield of 0.3%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus target price of $231.31 for Alphabet, with a majority rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy".

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384,780 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,451 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.2% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $252.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.96. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $256.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.31.

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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