Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 1,833 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 17.7%, holding a total of 12,214 shares valued at approximately $2.15 million.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings with an EPS of $2.31, surpassing estimates and achieving revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a low dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,214 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1%

GOOGL opened at $236.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.66. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $256.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. 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 the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. HSBC began coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.88.

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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