Wesbanco Bank Inc. Increases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.9%, acquiring an additional 1,468 shares to hold a total of 80,256 shares worth approximately $14.24 million.
• Alphabet's stock price reached $241.38, with a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, as the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding 0.3%.
• Recent research reports indicate a diverse range of ratings for Alphabet, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,256 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after buying an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Sentinus LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 8,799 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 584,478 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $111,308,000 after buying an additional 117,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 53,418.2% during the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 5,876 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $241.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $242.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $202.67 and its 200 day moving average is $178.86.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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