Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 32.2%, owning 1,932,813 shares valued at approximately $298,890,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider sales include Director John L. Hennessy selling 1,000 shares for $200,000, which decreased his ownership by 12.63%.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8th, representing a 0.4% yield.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,932,813 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 470,367 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $298,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $234.04 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $238.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.44.

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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