Terra Alpha Investments LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Terra Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,343,000. Alphabet makes up 5.4% of Terra Alpha Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $154.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.72. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Company 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.