NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.1%, now holding a total of 316,597 shares worth approximately $56.84 million, making it the firm's 10th largest position.
• Alphabet's stock recently recorded a 1.1% increase and is trading at around $254.72, with a 52-week range of $140.53 to $256.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.3% and a low dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 316,597 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.5% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $0.43 on Tuesday, hitting $252.10. 8,674,403 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,673,926. The business's fifty day moving average is $210.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.96. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 1.72 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at $598,149,304. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.31.

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.