Wulff Hansen & CO. Purchases 2,171 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,110 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.6% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,992 shares of company stock worth $16,097,111. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

GOOGL stock opened at $154.33 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $179.66 and a 200-day moving average of $177.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.