Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Lifted by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 14.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,555 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,430 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.0% of RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% in the second quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,944 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.1% in the first quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $168.42 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.46 and a 12-month high of $193.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.51.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.75.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,280,514.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,725 shares of company stock worth $31,933,031. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet 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.