Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,704 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,509 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 2,568 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 87.4% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 392,625 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 98,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,923,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 230,244 shares of company stock worth $37,776,954. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $172.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.11 and a 1 year high of $193.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

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.