Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 330,400 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $62,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock traded down $4.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.14. 13,291,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,831,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $147.22 and a one year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.86.

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Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.59.

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.