Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New $4.48 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,481,000. Alphabet accounts for 3.9% of Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,871,384,000 after buying an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 65,586 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,877,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 4.9% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,968 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,305 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,699,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.49.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $157.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $178.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. 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 12-month low of $147.22 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.