Petrus Trust Company LTA Acquires 65,140 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA significantly increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by purchasing 65,140 shares, raising its ownership to 68,415 shares, which now accounts for 1.0% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their positions in Alphabet during the first quarter, demonstrating continued confidence in the company.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations with earnings per share of $2.31, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting its strong financial performance.

Petrus Trust Company LTA boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1,989.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,415 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 65,140 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,637,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.00. 46,562,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,085,072. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $235.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $240.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.33.

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.