Ieq Capital LLC Has $177.15 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 21.3% during the first quarter, now owning 1,145,549 shares valued at approximately $177.15 million.
• Analyst reports have been positive, with several firms raising their price targets, including Citigroup from $203 to $225, while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Alphabet plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date on September 8th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,145,549 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 200,889 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.4% of Ieq Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $177,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Enzi Wealth boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Westpark Capital lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% 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 this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 254,608 shares of company stock worth $47,204,035 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $211.64 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $212.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.51 and a 200-day moving average of $173.92. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01.

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. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.