Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $43.21 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,267 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,674 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.4% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $43,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Meritage Group LP raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% in 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total value of $3,502,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,012,608.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total transaction of $3,502,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,325,513 shares in the company, valued at $362,012,608.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,958 shares of company stock valued at $22,383,553. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $141.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.26.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $179.63 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.35 and a twelve month high of $180.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

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.