Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 5.9%, holding 44,502 shares worth approximately $6.8 million after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares in the 1st quarter.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of company stock on August 6, reducing his ownership by 1.29% to 2,494,892 shares valued at nearly $490 million.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 15th.

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,502 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $201.42 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $180.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given 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 is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Westpark Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

About Alphabet

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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