Strong Tower Advisory Services Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,461 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.8% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $78,839,544,000 after buying an additional 14,307,345 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,783,364,000 after buying an additional 4,473,901 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,034,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,537,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 178.3% during the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 4,003,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $619,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565,400 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $256.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $257.33.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,785. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.