Zhang Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in 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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,610 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,241 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Coerente Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Coerente Capital Management now owns 270,408 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,816,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 23,005 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,557,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the period. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $619,000. Finally, Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,302 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $176.56. 17,797,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,394,222. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.89 and a 200-day moving average of $174.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $5,483,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,587,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,570,192.16. This trade represents a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% 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.