GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,870 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.2% of GAMMA Investing LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.9%

GOOGL traded up $4.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $178.53. 107,974,317 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,238,454. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $166.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.95.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,195 shares of company stock worth $35,764,898 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.