Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management Grows Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.8%, now holding 265,678 shares valued at approximately $41.5 million, making it the firm's 16th largest investment.
• Insider actions included significant share sales by executives, with John Kent Walker selling 23,820 shares for over $4.6 million, and CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares for nearly $6.5 million, reflecting a decrease in their ownership.
• Equity analysts have generally maintained a positive view on Alphabet, with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $215.19, following its recent earnings beats and revenue growth.

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,678 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,136 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.9% of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $41,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,281,408.64. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $208.21 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.22. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $211.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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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