Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 29,003 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 15.3%, acquiring an additional 29,003 shares to reach a total of 218,488 shares valued at approximately $33.79 million.
• Insider sales included CEO Sundar Pichai's divestment of 32,500 shares for around $6.5 million, which decreased his ownership by 1.30%.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15th, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218,488 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,003 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.9% in 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 grew its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in 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 position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 13,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,281,408.64. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $206.09 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $208.54. 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's 50 day moving average is $186.81 and its 200 day moving average is $173.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company 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 is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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