Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Lifted by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,678 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,191 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/17 - 11/21

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $299.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $306.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $262.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

• A Magnificent AI Bet? Stanley Druckenmiller’s Latest Tech Moves

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%.The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

• Alphabet: Buffett's Bet on Its Next Phase of Growth

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $168,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,264,750.96. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total transaction of $32,681.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,567.20. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 225,174 shares of company stock worth $58,095,223. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $260.00 to $320.00 in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, President Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $258.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.33.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GOOGL

Alphabet Company 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.

Further Reading

• Five stocks we like better than Alphabet
• Health Care Stocks Explained: Why You Might Want to Invest
• Rocket Lab Just Had Its First Real Crash—The Rebound Could Be Bigger
• What Do S&P 500 Stocks Tell Investors About the Market?
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/17 - 11/21
• What Is WallStreetBets and What Stocks Are They Targeting?
• A Magnificent AI Bet? Stanley Druckenmiller’s Latest Tech Moves

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Alphabet Right Now?

Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.

While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here