Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 63,545 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,892 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G PLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $2,240,000. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.3% during the second quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Alphabet by 4.6% in the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 11,366 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 162,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,149,000 after acquiring an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,628,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $439,405,000 after purchasing an additional 115,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $179.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.40 and a 1 year high of $193.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.03, for a total value of $130,424.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,812.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.03, for a total transaction of $130,424.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,812.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 242,552 shares of company stock worth $40,287,253 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.