Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,594 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.8% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %
Shares of GOOGL traded up $2.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.03. The company had a trading volume of 25,689,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,193,426. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. 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. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.36%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.46.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on GOOGL
Insider Activity
In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,164 shares of company stock valued at $25,357,390 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Alphabet Profile
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Free Report)
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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