Challenger Wealth Management Invests $201,000 in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Challenger Wealth Management has acquired a position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) valued at approximately $201,000 during the first quarter, purchasing 1,284 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Alphabet, with Principia Wealth Advisory lifting its share by 111.8%, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• Research analysts have issued favorable ratings on Alphabet, with Pivotal Research raising its price target from $245.00 to $300.00, indicating a positive market outlook for the stock.

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,284 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 38.7% during the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 262.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 13,126 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 7.5% during the first quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Alphabet by 1,191.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,543,988 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $238,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,405 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 13.4% during the first quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 58,409 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,268,000 after purchasing an additional 6,880 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ GOOG traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $239.56. 19,472,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,984,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $199.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.55. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $242.08.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. 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.