Carlson Capital L.P. Buys Shares of 2,300 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Carlson Capital L.P. has invested approximately $359,000 in Alphabet Inc., acquiring 2,300 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their positions in Alphabet, with Brighton Jones LLC and AQR Capital Management LLC among those making significant acquisitions.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, scheduled to be paid on September 15th, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,300 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock worth $47,225,230 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.53. 24,667,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,651,316. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $190.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.38. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $215.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Alphabet Company 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.