Holcombe Financial Inc. Invests $473,000 in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Holcombe Financial Inc. invested approximately $473,000 in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), acquiring 2,686 shares during the 2nd quarter, which represents 0.4% of its total holdings.
• Insider trading activity shows that CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares worth $7.47 million, while John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares for around $4.64 million in August.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet stock, with Barclays increasing it to $250 and others like JPMorgan and Westpark Capital also adjusting their targets upward, indicating strong market confidence.

Holcombe Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,686 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $473,000. Alphabet accounts for 0.4% of Holcombe Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Westpark Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $240.80 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $242.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $201.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend 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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