Efficient Advisors LLC Makes New $438,000 Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Efficient Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), purchasing 2,832 shares valued at approximately $438,000 in the first quarter.
• Alphabet is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share on September 15th, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 0.43%.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Alphabet, with several firms, including BMO Capital Markets and JPMorgan Chase, adjusting to between $225.00 and $232.00, reflecting strong confidence in the stock's performance.

Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,832 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $2.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.13. The company had a trading volume of 34,777,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,170,977. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $177.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.12. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.