Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Boosted by Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.7% during Q2, owning 41,016 shares valued at approximately $7.23 million, making it the firm's 10th largest position.
• Insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock, reducing his stake by 35.65%, while CEO Sundar Pichai also sold 32,500 shares, marking a 1.34% decrease in his holding.
• Alphabet's stock has shown significant growth, with executives and analysts raising price targets; the stock is currently trading at around $252.03, above its 52-week low of $140.53.

Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,016 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.5% of Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 52,789 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 29.8% during the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,977 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,991 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,937,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, David J Yvars Group boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. David J Yvars Group now owns 4,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $2.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $254.72. The stock had a trading volume of 55,452,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,316,584. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $209.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - 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 $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Roth Capital raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.54.

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.