S.A. Mason LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

S.A. Mason LLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,587 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.0% of S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $182.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.35 and a 1 year high of $186.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $172.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.14.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 price target (down from $182.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.66.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total value of $105,566.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,870.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,284 shares of company stock worth $24,534,393 in the last three months. Company 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.