Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,457 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $185.94 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average is $174.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.40.

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.

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