Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 7.5% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 24,763 shares, bringing its total holdings to 355,163 shares valued at approximately $54.9 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which will be paid on September 15th to stockholders of record as of September 8th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with Bank of America increasing its target from $210 to $217, contributing to a consensus price target of $211.39 and a prevailing "Moderate Buy" rating.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,163 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,763 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $54,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 13,564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $2.77 on Friday, hitting $189.13. 34,777,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,669,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $178.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, 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 in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.39.

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.