Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 4,241 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,610 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $176.77. The stock had a trading volume of 27,324,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,428,411. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $163.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush set a $190.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. 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.