Ransom Advisory Ltd Purchases Shares of 31,334 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased 31,334 shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) for approximately $4.9 million, making it the fund's 7th largest position in its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.19, alongside a revenue of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, which will be paid on September 15th, providing a 0.4% annual yield based on its current payout ratio of 8.95%.

Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,334 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,895,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.4% of Ransom Advisory Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Objectivity Squared LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,605,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,263,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

GOOG traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $241.38. The stock had a trading volume of 14,519,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,624,780. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $242.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $265.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

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.