NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $56.84 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 316,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.5% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position 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. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $254.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.36 and a 200-day moving average of $180.31. 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 market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Westpark Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.54.

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.