Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Increased by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 193,624 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,394 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of GOOGL traded up $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $201.13. 25,930,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,839,727. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.13. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

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.