Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is ProShare Advisors LLC's 8th Largest Position

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,556,233 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 668,619 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.5% of ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $673,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prodigy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $444,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Alphabet by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 851,433 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $161,176,000 after purchasing an additional 212,356 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,328,000. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in Alphabet by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,452,182 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $279,923,000 after purchasing an additional 156,937 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $165.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $158.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wedbush set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $529,302.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,815,948.32. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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