Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 571,895 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.9% of Howland Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Alphabet by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on GOOGL
Alphabet Price Performance
GOOGL stock opened at $201.42 on Friday. 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 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.
Alphabet Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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