Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 31,500 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,500 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,921,000. Alphabet accounts for about 1.2% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.94. The company had a trading volume of 20,915,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,559,132. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average is $174.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. Alphabet's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet 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.