Davis R M Inc. Purchases 2,051 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 919,485 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.4% of Davis R M Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $174,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $163.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.57 and a 200-day moving average of $176.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.37, 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.

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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.