Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,582,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.2% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,958,164 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $938,584,000 after acquiring an additional 238,216 shares during the period. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,058,000. Plancorp LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 25,551 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $4,481,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 553,784 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $104,831,000 after buying an additional 173,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,198,310 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.49.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $157.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.01 and a 200-day moving average of $177.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.22 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

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.