Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Boosted by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 43.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,184 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.9% of CenterBook Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $201.96 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,219 shares of company stock worth $49,674,273. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.