Sowell Financial Services LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) by 17.9% during the second quarter, owning a total of 74,403 shares valued at $13.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Kingstone Capital Partners and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly increased their holdings in Alphabet, highlighting strong investor interest.
• Alphabet's recent financial performance exceeded expectations, reporting a 13.8% year-over-year revenue growth and an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31, above the consensus estimate of $2.12.

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,403 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.5% of Sowell Financial Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet 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 directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.35.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $252.88. 20,038,778 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,284,148. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $256.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.48 and a 200-day moving average of $182.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.