Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 65.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,326 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,089 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $177.62. The company had a trading volume of 29,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,781,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.67 and a 200-day moving average of $173.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 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 yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

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.