Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Acquired by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 73,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,649 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sepio Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $235.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $235.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.33.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.