Westchester Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 540 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $2.25 on Wednesday, hitting $192.69. 8,007,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,758,002. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.83 and a fifty-two week high of $193.31. The company has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $177.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.32.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,288 shares of company stock worth $25,345,053 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.38.

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.