Hilltop Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 59.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 76,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,423 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $189.82 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.68 and a 52 week high of $195.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $171.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.71. The company has a market cap of $2.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 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 analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,713,977.55. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.08.

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.