Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 271,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,971 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.6% of Stephens Inc. AR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $178.88 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.90 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,159,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,159,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 207,495 shares of company stock valued at $34,586,641. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

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.