Verus Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Verus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,402 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $191.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.95.

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.