CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,717 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.4% of CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $244.62 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.53. 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:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $201.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 953 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $229,863.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,171,312.80. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475. Corporate insiders own 11.64% 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.

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.