Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 7.2% during Q1, owning 2,872,115 shares worth approximately $444 million.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, set to be paid on September 15th.
• Alphabet's stock had a market cap of $2.44 trillion and reported earnings per share of $2.31, exceeding estimates by $0.16 in its latest quarterly earnings.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,872,115 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 192,732 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.6% of Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $444,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $201.42 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $180.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.80.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued 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 is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

About Alphabet

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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