Skylands Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Skylands Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,825 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,025 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.4% of Skylands Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,645,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 16,690 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 275,129 shares of company stock valued at $40,382,765 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.25. 27,886,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,729,318. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $150.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.58. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.16 and a 1 year high of $174.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays upped their target price on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus upped their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.60.

About Alphabet

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.