Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Purchases 3,605 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,125 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,605 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 491.4% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 149,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,300,000 after buying an additional 124,220 shares during the period. Northwest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 64,976 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,656,000. Finally, LBP AM SA increased its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 985,214 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $186,501,000 after purchasing an additional 31,612 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded down $7.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.33. 48,610,349 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,276,841. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.22 and a 1 year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.