Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Lifted by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 586,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,088 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.0% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $111,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,871,384,000 after purchasing an additional 337,031 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 213,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,438,000 after purchasing an additional 4,522 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 224,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,223,000 after buying an additional 13,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 141,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,419,000 after buying an additional 2,426 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $154.33 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.22 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.59.

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.