PDS Planning Inc Purchases 1,780 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,728 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 3,555 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 6,445 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 15,977 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.88.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $3.84 on Friday, reaching $178.27. 73,956,281 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,960,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $167.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.68, for a total value of $5,742,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,555,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,452,029.28. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,195 shares of company stock valued at $35,764,898 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.