Buffington Mohr McNeal Grows Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 28.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,412 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,170 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.5% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,460. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,927,257.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $164.51 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $121.46 and a twelve month high of $193.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.52. The company has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Pivotal Research assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

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.