Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $2.35 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP made a new investment of approximately $2.35 million in Alphabet Inc., acquiring 15,166 shares in the first quarter.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15th, reflecting a 0.4% yield.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with JMP Securities now setting a target of $250.00, citing a “market outperform” rating.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,166 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,345,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 222,210 shares of company stock worth $41,742,155. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $230.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $2.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $231.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $193.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.80.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.11.

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.

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