Shell Asset Management Co. Buys 59,603 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 26.6%, acquiring an additional 59,603 shares during the second quarter, raising its total to 283,897 shares valued at approximately $50.36 million.
• Analysts' ratings for Alphabet show a consensus of "Moderate Buy," with six analysts giving a strong buy rating, while the average price target has been boosted to $241.00.
• CEO Sundar Pichai and another insider recently sold significant amounts of shares, totaling over $59 million, indicating a 12.99% current ownership by insiders.

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 26.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,897 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 59,603 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $50,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's 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 owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $242.21 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $256.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.21.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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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