Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 4.6% of Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $251.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $205.68 and its 200 day moving average is $179.98. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $253.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 225,588 shares of company stock valued at $44,296,554 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.56.

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.