Aristides Capital LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 25.1%, resulting in ownership of 68,680 shares valued at approximately $10.6 million, making it the firm's 3rd largest position.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 8.95% and a dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Alphabet, with upgrades from several firms, including Citizens Jmp and JMP Securities, who have raised their targets to between $220.00 and $225.00.

Aristides Capital LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,680 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,800 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.1% of Aristides Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Aristides Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Falcon Wealth Planning raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 9,898 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,608 shares of company stock valued at $47,204,035 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $211.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $212.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.53.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.