Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Walter Public Investments Inc.'s 5th Largest Position

Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 161,623 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 4.7% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and six have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $207.63.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG traded up $2.50 on Wednesday, reaching $177.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,251,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,341,583. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $170.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.29. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% 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 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.