Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Costello Asset Management INC

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 82.2%, acquiring an additional 24,307 shares, bringing its total to 53,867 shares valued at approximately $8.42 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Alphabet, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19, while three analysts have rated the stock as a sell.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which will be payable on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 82.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,867 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,307 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.4% of Costello Asset Management INC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $196.92. 15,353,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,004,010. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.