Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,681 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,725 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,582 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 4,383 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $154,716,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,092,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,502,002. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.50 and a 200 day moving average of $174.17. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase 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%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 183,143 shares of company stock worth $30,529,028. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.