Founders Capital Management Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 85.0% in the second quarter, owning 22,221 shares valued at approximately $3.94 million.
• Insider selling activity included Director Kavitark Ram Shriram and CEO Sundar Pichai, who sold shares reducing their respective positions by 7.09% and 1.27%.
• Alphabet reported $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showcasing a revenue increase of 13.8% year-over-year, totaling $96.43 billion.

Founders Capital Management grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 85.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,221 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,210 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.4% of Founders Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Founders Capital Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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 worth $59,135,475. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.33.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $246.45 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $256.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $221.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. 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 analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Alphabet Company 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.

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