Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,123 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,059 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.7% of Vestcor Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.52. The company had a trading volume of 26,014,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,764,620. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $180.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Alphabet Company 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.