Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 769,656 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,527 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.2% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $116,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 87.5% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Armor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Argus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $176.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 123,788 shares of company stock worth $21,143,403 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $188.98. The stock had a trading volume of 15,121,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,201,648. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $176.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.91. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.35 and a 1 year high of $191.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

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.