World Investment Advisors Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,660 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,756 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of World Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.61.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $180.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $170.32 and its 200 day moving average is $173.46. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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