Archer Investment Corp Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.0% of Archer Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275,757 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $68,980,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,374,756 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39,754.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 6,025,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $841,725,000 after buying an additional 6,010,548 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 143.7% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,072,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,288,201,000 after buying an additional 4,170,229 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $158.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Argus increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,385,565. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,213,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,588,151.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $30,139,931. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.