Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Has $83.80 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 442,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 4.2% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $83,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $165.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $185.70 and its 200 day moving average is $176.56. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.03 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

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.