Objectivity Squared LLC Acquires 225 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Objectivity Squared LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.9% of Objectivity Squared LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Objectivity Squared LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Unigestion Holding SA increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 11,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 17,099 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 46,421 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,542,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 366,679 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $51,676,000 after purchasing an additional 15,905 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.93. The stock had a trading volume of 5,951,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,803,846. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $121.46 and a one year high of $193.31. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,141,173.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $187.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Pivotal Research started coverage on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.11.

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.