Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,342,143.80. This represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,588 shares of company stock valued at $24,473,081. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.69.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $189.01. 12,333,594 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,460,176. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $201.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.