Sapient Capital LLC Invests $94.31 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 675,147 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $94,311,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.4% of Sapient Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,629 shares of company stock valued at $37,091,240. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.60.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $168.65. The company had a trading volume of 29,799,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,806,666. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.41 and a 12-month high of $174.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business's 50-day moving average is $153.32 and its 200 day moving average is $143.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%.

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.