Capital Analysts LLC Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 10.1%, owning 33,522 shares worth approximately $5.24 million after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares in the first quarter.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.12, alongside a significant revenue increase of 13.8% year-over-year, totaling $96.43 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,522 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the first quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 425,522 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $66,432,000 after purchasing an additional 18,788 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 45.0% during the first quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.5% during the first quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.8% during the first quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 82,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,851,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $202.49 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 242,319 shares of company stock worth $44,243,272 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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