Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Boosted by Weaver Consulting Group

Weaver Consulting Group increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,625 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the quarter. Weaver Consulting Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $23,989,000. Wills Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,157,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Alphabet by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,177,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $692,822,000 after buying an additional 1,537,300 shares during the period. Taika Capital LP lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% during the third quarter. Taika Capital LP now owns 59,360 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,845,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.2% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 4,715,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $782,046,000 after buying an additional 273,500 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $189.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.68 and a 12-month high of $195.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. 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.