Draper Asset Management LLC Acquires 658 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Draper Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 11.5% of Draper Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Draper Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 67,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,437,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 27.1% during the first quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,630 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Seamount Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% during the first quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 52,539 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,125,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 187.7% in the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 33,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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 on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

GOOGL opened at $183.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $171.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.41.

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.