19,079 Shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Acquired by Wakefield Asset Management LLLP

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 19,079 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,475,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $787,000. New Hampshire Trust grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Matisse Capital grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 16,781 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $359,000. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $163.59 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

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.