Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,333 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.5% of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,025,322,000 after buying an additional 22,100,902 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,503,291,000 after buying an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 20,990.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,157,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 29,866,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,792,317,000 after acquiring an additional 4,694,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $157.14 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.51.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,468,029.04. This trade represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,297 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,770. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.