Balboa Wealth Partners Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.0% of Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its position in Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $177.35 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.20 and its 200-day moving average is $171.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.40 and a 1-year high of $193.31. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,471,141 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

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.