Equitable Trust Co. Buys 7,611 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its investment in Alphabet Inc. by 4.8%, acquiring an additional 7,611 shares, bringing its total holdings to 166,646 shares valued at approximately $29.6 million.
• Multiple large investors, including ACT Advisors LLC and LongView Wealth Management, have also raised their stakes in Alphabet during the second quarter, indicating increased institutional interest.
• Analysts have set a range of price targets for Alphabet, with Oppenheimer raising its target to $270.00 and TD Cowen increasing it to $280.00, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.

Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,646 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,611 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.5% of Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ACT Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the second quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 1,625 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 5,126 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 4,127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Brueske Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Alphabet from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.68.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $253.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.73. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $257.58. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,372 shares of company stock valued at $55,110,740. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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