Confluence Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 438,038 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 438,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,696,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Alphabet by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 15,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after buying an additional 4,044 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 7,446 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 14,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $663,107.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,958 shares of company stock worth $22,383,553. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $176.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.83 and a twelve month high of $182.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $170.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.