Austin Asset Management Co Inc Acquires 73 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Austin Asset Management Co Inc grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,426 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Austin Asset Management Co Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $624,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 497,874,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,144,172,000 after buying an additional 4,064,073 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,724,251,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,011,412,000 after purchasing an additional 238,403 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,178,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,310,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,412,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,344,778,000 after purchasing an additional 597,756 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $165.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $162.08 and its 200 day moving average is $167.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GOOGL. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $206.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.14.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is 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.