Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Lifted by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,885 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,460 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 4.1% of Skylands Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $28,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 5,307 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $179.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.97. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. JMP Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America increased 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.95.

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.

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