Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Foster & Motley Inc.

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 12.6% during the first quarter, owning 117,065 shares valued at approximately $18.3 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in Alphabet, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by 18,562.3% to own over 14.3 million shares valued at $2.2 billion.
• Alphabet recently reported $2.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating expectations, with a revenue of $96.43 billion, reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year increase.

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,065 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,064 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.2% of Foster & Motley Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $1.01 on Wednesday, hitting $197.44. The company had a trading volume of 21,048,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,257,904. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $2.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.54 and a 200 day moving average of $174.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. 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 the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,298 shares of company stock worth $43,505,967. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.