J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 30,904 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alphabet Inc. by **41.2%**, acquiring an additional **30,904 shares**, bringing its total holdings to **105,906 shares**, valued at approximately **$16.4 million**.
• Alphabet Inc. reported **earnings per share (EPS)** of **$2.81** for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of **$2.02**, while revenue fell short at **$76.49 billion** compared to estimates of **$89.30 billion**.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.21 per share**, resulting in an annualized dividend of **$0.84** and a yield of **0.44%**, with a dividend payout ratio of **8.95%**.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,906 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,904 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.5% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,490,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,873,000 after buying an additional 13,564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,298 shares of company stock worth $43,505,967 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $4.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $191.74. 18,906,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,930,727. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50-day moving average is $177.49 and its 200 day moving average is $173.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

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.