Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 8,740 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 6.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 8,740 shares, bringing its total holdings to 138,560 shares valued at approximately $24.4 million.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on Alphabet, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $263.55, while several firms, including JMP Securities and Deutsche Bank, reaffirmed their bullish positions.
• Insiders have recently sold significant amounts of Alphabet stock, totaling 246,150 shares valued at over $55 million in the last quarter, indicating possible profit-taking among executives.

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,560 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,740 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.5% of Ritholtz Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.55.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $259.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.72 and a 200-day moving average of $195.60. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $261.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. 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 $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

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 shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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