J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $22.85 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,980 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,193,768,000 after buying an additional 5,655,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,247,208,000 after buying an additional 259,213 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,609 shares of company stock valued at $21,809,990. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $4.49 on Friday, reaching $182.15. The stock had a trading volume of 11,208,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,409,787. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.00. 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 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Company 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.