Cresset Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.3%, acquiring an additional 33,109 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1,474,096 shares, worth about $227.95 million.
• Alphabet has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which is set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• After recent earnings reports, several research firms raised their price targets for Alphabet, with JPMorgan lifting its target from $200 to $232, reflecting optimistic sentiment about the company's future performance.

Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,474,096 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,109 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.1% of Cresset Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $227,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,281,408.64. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.2%

GOOGL stock traded up $6.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.09. The company had a trading volume of 42,770,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,218,810. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $208.54. The company has a market cap of $2.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.81 and a 200 day moving average of $173.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.