Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $66.15 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 427,793 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,788 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.4% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $66,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Perritt Capital Management Inc raised its position in Alphabet by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Enzi Wealth grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

GOOGL stock opened at $192.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $176.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.79.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $177.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.32.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.