Hardy Reed LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,661 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dixon Fnancial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dixon Fnancial Services Inc. now owns 2,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.2% in the third quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 3,549 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 145,796 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,180,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 14,683 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grassi Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 55,545 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $170.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.41. 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 $2.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at $52,329,576.64. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.