Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Empirical Finance LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 184,877 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Alphabet by 87.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $176.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.40 and a fifty-two week high of $193.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.57. The company has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at $56,765,168.06. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.