Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Holdings Raised by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,015 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.3% of Avestar Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Denver PWM LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $179.25 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.66 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $192.12 and a 200-day moving average of $176.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

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.