Pines Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 10.6%, acquiring an additional 1,414 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,781 shares worth approximately $2.65 million.
• Institutional investors own over 40% of Alphabet's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by various firms, including Baron Wealth Management, which grew its stake by 29.8% in the second quarter.
• Analysts have raised Alphabet's target prices, with ratings showing three strong buy, thirty-two buy, and ten hold ratings, indicating a general positive outlook on the stock.

Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,781 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.9% of Pines Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Pines Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,654,000 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. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $2.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $254.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,452,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,316,584. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $209.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.31. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.