Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,132 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,244 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.38.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $180.22 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $169.65 and a 200-day moving average of $175.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.