Wernau Asset Management Inc. Makes New $1.92 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Wernau Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,116 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,915,000. Alphabet accounts for about 1.4% of Wernau Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,445.55. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $165.49 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.56. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.03 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.