Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176,942 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,118 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.4% of Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $173.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.00 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.40. The company has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s 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 $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 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887 in the last ninety days. 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.