Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 72.4%, owning 4,764 shares valued at approximately $744,000 as of the latest reporting period.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target for Alphabet shares from $200.00 to $232.00 and rated the stock as "overweight," while overall consensus indicates a "Moderate Buy" rating with a target price of $215.19.

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 72.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,764 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $197.28 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $181.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 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 given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by 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.

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