Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,266 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,442 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.1% of Cypress Capital Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased 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 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 increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $164.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.58. 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 52 week low of $146.08 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Ten equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from 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.