Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 33,310 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,306,000. Alphabet makes up about 6.2% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 126,026 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,857,000 after acquiring an additional 15,622 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 29,145 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,517,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,650 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 14,034 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,457,789 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $473,713,000 after purchasing an additional 35,798 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.