WealthShield Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,443 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,986 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.9% of WealthShield Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. WealthShield Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

GOOGL stock traded up $2.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.33. 23,003,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,597,219. The firm's 50 day moving average is $183.65 and its 200 day moving average is $173.30. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.