Independence Bank of Kentucky Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,426 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,204 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.9% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 6,309 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, M. Kraus & Co grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. M. Kraus & Co now owns 6,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $163.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.13 and its 200 day moving average is $164.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $3,973,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,235,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $394,746,532.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $3,973,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,235,511 shares in the company, valued at $394,746,532.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,883 shares of company stock valued at $26,705,320 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.74.

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.