Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Alphabet Inc. by 15.1%, acquiring an additional 7,129 shares and bringing its total holdings to 54,376 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, scheduled for payment on September 15, as part of its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• In its latest earnings report, Alphabet reported a 13.8% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, totaling $96.43 billion, with an EPS of $2.31 exceeding analysts' expectations.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,376 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.95. The stock had a trading volume of 21,211,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.69. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.