Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Boosted by Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,674 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.8% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Hutchinson Capital Management CA raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 3,555 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,533 shares of company stock worth $26,772,774 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $170.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.88 and a 200-day moving average of $176.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.94.

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.