Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,736,847 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 180,755 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 6.0% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $316,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3 %

GOOGL opened at $159.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a PEG 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. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $165.62 and its 200 day moving average is $165.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total transaction of $5,570,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 312,210 shares in the company, valued at $50,765,346. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson started coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.08.

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.