Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s 8th Largest Position

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,849 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.6% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and six have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.38.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.22. 13,287,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,182,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm's 50-day moving average is $169.97 and its 200-day moving average is $175.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Alphabet Company 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.