Security Financial Services INC. Buys 147 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Security Financial Services INC. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Security Financial Services INC.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,213,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $392,588,151.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at $663,107.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,213,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,588,151.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 158,458 shares of company stock valued at $26,375,053. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $180.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.35 and a twelve month high of $180.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Alphabet 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.