Advisors Preferred LLC Purchases New Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Advisors Preferred LLC has made a new investment in Alphabet Inc. by acquiring 27,800 shares worth approximately $4.37 million during the first quarter of 2023.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share will be paid on September 15th, with a current yield of 0.43% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with the average target now at $211.39, reflecting a positive outlook for the company's stock performance.

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,800 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,367,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Enzi Wealth increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,298 shares of company stock valued at $43,505,967. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.39.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.53. The company had a trading volume of 32,265,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,021,776. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $177.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.