Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 18,687 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 373,850 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,687 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $65,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 36.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $50,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total transaction of $32,681.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,567.20. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total value of $9,640,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,304,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,642,180.16. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,072 shares of company stock valued at $58,074,027. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $319.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $267.94 and its 200-day moving average is $217.64. 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 market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $328.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.84.

Alphabet 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.