CWA Asset Management Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,467 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.0% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $5.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $196.96. 8,685,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,412,271. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $201.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.46.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. The trade was a 1.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.