Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 7.8%, owning over 1.5 million shares now valued at approximately $244 million.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging $211.39, while significant upgrades have been made by firms such as Bank of America and BMO Capital Markets.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15, representing an annual yield of 0.4%.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,578,549 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 114,376 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.5% of Cetera Investment Advisers' portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Alphabet were worth $244,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 over the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $189.13 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $178.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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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