Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Has $43.01 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 227,200 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,102 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.3% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $43,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,164 shares of company stock valued at $25,357,390. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $164.03 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.19 and a 200-day moving average of $175.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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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