Welch Group LLC Buys 2,141 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,438 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Denver PWM LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $186.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 given 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 (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,259,266.02. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.