Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Raised by IMS Capital Management

IMS Capital Management raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,879 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.5% of IMS Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 25,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Alphabet by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 57,804 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,602,000 after buying an additional 12,053 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its stake in Alphabet by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 105,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,310,000 after buying an additional 15,936 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 39,371 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,221,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 23,637 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,335,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,342,143.80. The trade was a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,957 shares of company stock valued at $31,358,687 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $197.12 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.55 and a 52-week high of $202.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.49.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

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.