Wedmont Private Capital Acquires 6,372 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,213 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.8% of Wedmont Private Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $174.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $161.88 and its 200 day moving average is $176.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.