Graypoint LLC Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,918 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. The trade was a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,343.27. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.04. 26,591,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,268,787. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.66 and a 52 week high of $201.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.01. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued 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 payout ratio is 10.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.08.

Alphabet 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.