Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 4.9% of Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in Alphabet by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 5,516 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 6,305,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,037,196,000 after buying an additional 611,233 shares during the period. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% in the third quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $185.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.76. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

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.