Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $32.24 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.8% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 206,354 shares, valued at approximately $32.2 million.
• Alphabet reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15, contributing to an annual yield of 0.4%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 206,354 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $32,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% in 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. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 329,765 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $62,800,000 after acquiring an additional 17,412 shares during the period. Finally, Capula Management Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $83,794,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $197.28. 14,292,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,208,792. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.68. The company has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.