James Hambro & Partners LLP Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

James Hambro & Partners LLP boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.3% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

GOOGL opened at $245.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $220.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital lifted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.76.

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.