Stevens Capital Management LP Buys 11,909 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 68%, acquiring an additional 11,909 shares, bringing its total holdings to 29,419 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Principia Wealth Advisory LLC and MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC, have also recently raised or initiated stakes in Alphabet, contributing to institutional investors owning 27.26% of its stock.
• Alphabet reported strong financial performance with a net revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter and earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations and representing a year-over-year revenue growth of 13.8%.

Stevens Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,419 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,909 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.1% of Stevens Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,300,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Kidder Stephen W increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 3,608 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Objectivity Squared LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $194.08. 31,074,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,020,362. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.