Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Boosted by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,118 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,406 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.3% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Meritage Group LP boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,187.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,187.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 205,935 shares of company stock worth $31,178,987. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $173.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.39. 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 12 month low of $115.35 and a 12 month high of $178.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. 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 $66.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

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.