Financial Security Advisor Inc. Buys 3,168 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 42,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.7% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8%

Alphabet stock opened at $185.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $172.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $203.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 261,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.