Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,141 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of Verus Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Verus Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 186,994 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 11,931 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 48,538 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 36,807 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.62.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Alphabet
Alphabet Stock Down 0.7 %
GOOGL stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $164.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,108,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,929,540. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.08 and a 12 month high of $207.05.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.
About Alphabet
(
Free Report)
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.
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