Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Bought by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 13.3% during the first quarter, acquiring 296,582 shares for a total of 2,523,096 shares valued at approximately $390 million.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock, bringing down his ownership to 2,494,892 shares worth around $490 million, and insiders collectively sold 273,219 shares last quarter.
• Analysts have set a range of new price targets for Alphabet's stock, with an average target of $211.53 and a majority rating of "buy" from market analysts, indicating positive future projections.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,523,096 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 296,582 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.8% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $390,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $0.43 on Thursday, reaching $196.52. 26,014,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,916,484. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company'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 value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 in the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.