Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Bought by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 92.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,439 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,106 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,044 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 31,967 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,088,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,262,000. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 246.2% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock valued at $32,036,638. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

GOOG traded up $2.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $180.01. 32,875,878 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,432,669. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.88.

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.