Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Invests $1.31 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC has invested $1.31 million in Alphabet Inc., acquiring 8,440 shares during the first quarter.
• Alphabet recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.15, alongside a revenue of $96.43 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with a payout ratio of 8.95%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,440 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,025,322,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100,902 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16,993.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,483,898,000 after acquiring an additional 15,968,487 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Alphabet by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Alphabet by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $196.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick 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 results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded 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. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Westpark Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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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