Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Bought by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,097 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,667 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.9 %

GOOGL stock opened at $179.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.35 and a 52-week high of $180.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.26.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,870.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,958 shares of company stock worth $22,383,553. Company insiders own 11.55% 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.