Saratoga Research & Investment Management Has $154.68 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 932,640 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 32,106 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 6.8% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $154,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.8% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 32,844 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 53,369 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,721,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 47,515 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,655,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,590,960. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total value of $2,780,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,280,514.53. This represents a 27.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,957 shares of company stock valued at $31,358,687. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $188.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,167,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,582,375. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $201.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.69.

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.