Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,605 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.59.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $170.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.22 and a 1-year 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

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.