Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 57%, acquiring an additional 11,680 shares, bringing its total holdings to 32,180 shares valued at approximately $5.03 million.
• Alphabet's CEO, Sundar Pichai, sold 32,500 shares for about $6.38 million, reducing his ownership by 1.29%.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings showed a 13.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $96.43 billion, exceeding expectations, with earnings per share of $2.31.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 57.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,180 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,680 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.2% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

GOOG traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $203.82. 17,610,143 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,231,382. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.