Aljian Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 216,858 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,854 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 8.4% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Hampshire Trust grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 17.0% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 10.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 6,305,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,196,000 after purchasing an additional 611,233 shares during the period. Finally, StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the third quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $168.95 on Monday. 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 fifty day moving average is $168.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.31. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. The trade was a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.