Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Increased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,385 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,136 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 0.7% of Wedbush Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $194.08. 31,074,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,020,362. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.86 and a 200 day moving average of $174.67.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given 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 0.43%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. 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.