Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,613 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,036 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,724,251,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275,757 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $68,980,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374,756 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Alphabet by 39,754.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 6,025,667 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $841,725,000 after acquiring an additional 6,010,548 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 143.7% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,072,197 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,288,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170,229 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $222.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.74.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $165.62. 13,932,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,963,758. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $174.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.30.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,209,888.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total transaction of $118,572.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,209,888.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total transaction of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,182,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $354,310,204.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,565 shares of company stock valued at $26,823,893. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company 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.