Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Acquired by Sharp Financial Services LLC

Sharp Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 39.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,162 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.8% of Sharp Financial Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Sharp Financial Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $180.19 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush set a $190.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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