Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 514,130 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,185 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.9% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $79,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

GOOGL opened at $192.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $2.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.32.

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.