Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Increased by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,216 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,350 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.0% of Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $3,119,000. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the first quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 9,898 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $179.08 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.95.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet 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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