SFE Investment Counsel Buys 1,563 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 3.6%, acquiring an additional 1,563 shares, bringing their total to 44,605 shares valued at approximately $6.9 million.
• Several analysts have forecast positive growth for Alphabet, with target price increases from firms like Westpark Capital and Wells Fargo, reflecting an optimistic outlook and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, which indicates a 0.4% yield based on its annualized dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,605 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.4% of SFE Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Alphabet by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Enzi Wealth grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Westpark Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.13. 34,777,882 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,669,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 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.