Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 13,624 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.7%, now owning approximately $323.8 million in shares, which constitutes 1.1% of its total holdings.
• Alphabet reported $2.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.12 and showing a 13.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.21 per share payable on September 15, representing an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,072,754 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,624 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Empower Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $323,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Alphabet by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,455,571,000 after buying an additional 294,556 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after acquiring an additional 769,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,380,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247,379 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.92. The company had a trading volume of 15,353,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,004,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.