Element Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 16,524 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC has acquired a new position in Alphabet Inc. by purchasing 16,524 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million during the first quarter.
• Insiders at Alphabet have sold a significant number of shares recently, with over 254,000 shares sold in the past three months, valued at around $47 million.
• Alphabet has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing a yield of 0.4%, with the ex-dividend date on September 8th.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,524 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,555,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first 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 period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $6.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $206.09. 42,770,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,218,810. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $208.54. The company's 50 day moving average is $186.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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.