Headlands Technologies LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 24.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,265 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $41,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.17. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $191.75. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,262 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.99, for a total transaction of $600,175.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,867 shares of company stock worth $29,878,106 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

About Alphabet

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.