Griffin Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,551 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Westpark Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,258.92. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $253.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $257.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.45.

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

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.