Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Purchases 11,294 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.1%, owning a total of 542,347 shares, which constitutes around 4.7% of its holdings.
• Alphabet recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.12, with revenue rising to $96.43 billion, a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15, with an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 542,347 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,294 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.7% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $84,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Ballast Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 7,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 96,835 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 265,812 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $41,528,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.9% during the first quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 27,404 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,281,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $204.16. The company had a trading volume of 19,850,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,512,336. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.55. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 274,219 shares of company stock worth $49,674,273 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

About Alphabet

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.