Clark Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Clark Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 48.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,029 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares during the period. Clark Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% 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, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.38.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $180.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $169.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.71. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

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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