VitalStone Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,716,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,355,724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,470,042 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,171,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,815,986,000 after buying an additional 13,876,534 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,731,826 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,963,128,000 after buying an additional 979,083 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,558,778 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,414,179,000 after buying an additional 684,968 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,657,421 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,743,000 after acquiring an additional 636,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $165.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.46 and a 52-week high of $193.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.37.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $187.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 28th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total transaction of $3,759,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,129,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,743,153.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total value of $3,759,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,129,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,743,153.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 216,092 shares of company stock valued at $35,644,136 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% 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.