Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Buys 18,866 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 66.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,450 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,866 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.4% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.03, for a total value of $130,424.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,024 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,812.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 242,552 shares of company stock worth $40,287,253 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Roth Mkm boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $178.35. 22,006,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,879,976. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.59. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $127.90 and a one year high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

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.