Opus Capital Group LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Opus Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $42,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $181.56 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $170.66 and its 200-day moving average is $173.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. JMP Securities raised Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 215,443 shares of company stock worth $36,298,548 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.