GDS Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.5%, acquiring an additional 2,977 shares, bringing their total to 120,271 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million.
• Insider selling at Alphabet included CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares and another insider selling nearly 24,000 shares, with total insider sales amounting to over $47 million in the last quarter.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an expected dividend yield of 0.4%, marking a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

GDS Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,271 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.6% of GDS Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. GDS Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,677,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,151,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $188.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.51. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $210.52.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.