Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,380 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $62,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth 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 period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $167.68 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. Wedbush upped their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

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.