Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Holdings Boosted by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.0% during Q1 2023, now holding 108,031 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Several large investors, including Bessemer Group Inc., have also raised their positions in Alphabet, with Bessemer increasing its stake by 10.8% during the fourth quarter.
• Researchers predict Alphabet will generate 8.89 EPS for the current year, with an average target price of $215.19 based on analyst ratings, which include 17 buy and 5 strong buy ratings.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,031 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,165 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,376,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,758,244 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,380,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $4.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $202.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,389,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,026,020. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $181.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet 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.