Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 39.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,027 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Meritage Group LP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $48,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total value of $105,566.78. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 have sold 146,284 shares of company stock valued at $24,534,393. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $182.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.35 and a fifty-two week high of $186.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.66.

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.