Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd's Largest Position

GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 85.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 488,222 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 225,543 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 18.5% of GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $75,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $180.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,243,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,854,164. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.99 and a 200-day moving average of $173.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GOOGL. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush set a $190.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.61.

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.