Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Boosted by ERn Financial LLC

ERn Financial LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,595 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 554 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Alphabet Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $182.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.35 and a 12 month high of $186.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.14.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.66.

Insider Activity

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 firm’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 sale, the director now owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,107.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total transaction of $3,502,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,012,608.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,284 shares of company stock worth $24,534,393. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.