Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Increased by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 99.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,391 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,634 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 34,120 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNICOM Systems Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,347,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.7 %

GOOGL stock traded down $4.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $179.66. 35,094,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,166,218. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.81.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. 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.