Financial Advocates Investment Management Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,036 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $173.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.35 and a 1-year high of $178.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given 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 is Monday, June 10th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $141.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.22, for a total value of $3,897,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,258,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,132,665.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.22, for a total transaction of $3,897,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,258,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,132,665.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 205,935 shares of company stock valued at $31,178,987 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.