Ancora Advisors LLC Buys 1,451 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.6%, now holding 93,629 shares valued at approximately $14.48 million.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares worth nearly $6.5 million, representing a 1.3% decrease in his ownership.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 15.

Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,629 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth grew its position in Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the first quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.1% during the first quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.33.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.00. The company had a trading volume of 46,562,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,713,716. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $235.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $195.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet 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.