Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 13,582 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,347 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,582 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $165.86 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $162.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,728,640.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.