Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Lifted by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 21.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,436 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of Weaver Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 29,159 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,109,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its stake in Alphabet by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 16,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,647 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marest Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $2,852,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $152.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.46 and a 1-year high of $193.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total transaction of $3,570,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,137,385 shares in the company, valued at $339,160,251.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at $663,107.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total value of $3,570,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,137,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,160,251.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 200,532 shares of company stock worth $34,055,874 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.