Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 5,458 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,458 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.4% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $38,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.08.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,713,977.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’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 owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $161.85 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.23 and a 200-day moving average of $165.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.