Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,798 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,830 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 3.4% of Agate Pass Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,010,000 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,025,322,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Alphabet by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.73. 52,598,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,980,554. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $159.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.59. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,533 shares of company stock valued at $26,772,774 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

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.