American Trust Acquires 3,810 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

American Trust boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,637,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 64,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Finally, Brooktree Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $352,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 954 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.00, for a total value of $302,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,721,580. This trade represents a 7.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $168,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,750.96. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 222,750 shares of company stock valued at $60,496,098 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.22.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $308.22 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $328.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $284.30 and its 200 day moving average is $230.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

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.