Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, holding 387,060 shares valued at approximately $59.9 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts raised their price targets for Alphabet, with JPMorgan now at $232.00, reflecting a positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8th, indicating a 0.43% yield for investors.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,060 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,535 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.9% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $59,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

GOOGL traded down $2.77 on Friday, hitting $189.13. 34,777,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,669,572. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.96.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were 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 directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Westpark Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.39.

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.