First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $28.80 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 206,191 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,866 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.6% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $28,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Meritage Group LP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Redburn Atlantic upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.60.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $169.96 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.93 and a 52 week high of $174.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,629 shares of company stock valued at $37,091,240. Company insiders own 0.88% 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.