MCF Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 22.4% in Q2, owning a total of 6,566 shares valued at approximately $1,165,000.
• Insider trading activity included Director Kavitark Ram Shriram selling over 18,500 shares and CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares, both resulting in notable decreases in their respective positions.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3%, while analysts maintain a consensus target price of $230.35 for the stock.

MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,566 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. 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. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.8%

GOOG opened at $247.83 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $256.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.35.

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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