Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys 4,732 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 4.4%, now owning 112,999 shares valued at approximately $17.47 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Alphabet, with a consensus target price of $211.53 and 29 analysts issuing a buy rating.
• Alphabet recently announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,999 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.0% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Enzi Wealth grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $4.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $201.42. 39,112,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,618,092. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.