Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 459,632 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,321 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 4.6% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $77,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its position in Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $173.02 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.40 and a 52 week high of $193.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 8.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 163,624 shares of company stock valued at $27,803,730. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.