Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 48.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,450 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,500 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 7.0% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

GOOGL stock opened at $202.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. 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 is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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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