Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 151,000 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 151,000 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,584,000. Alphabet comprises about 4.2% of Ardmore Road Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,596,692 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $302,254,000 after buying an additional 38,649 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 14,800 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,859 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,410,000 after purchasing an additional 8,835 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 25,061 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $967,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Westpark Capital upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.51.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $4.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.14. 33,590,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,213,740. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.52 and a 200 day moving average of $176.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.