Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 11,167 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.2%, acquiring an additional 11,167 shares to own a total of 516,789 shares, valued at approximately $80.7 million.
• Alphabet Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of $2.31, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.12, with revenue reaching $96.43 billion, a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on September 15th, indicating a current dividend yield of 0.4%.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 516,789 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,167 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.4% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $80,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $200.62 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $187.09 and its 200-day moving average is $174.87. 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 capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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