Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.7% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gimbal Financial increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 2,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Council LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Council LLC now owns 5,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $277.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $291.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $240.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.09.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,896 shares of company stock worth $45,092,175. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.