Bender Robert & Associates Purchases 784 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Bender Robert & Associates increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,933 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 2.7% of Bender Robert & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,555,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,910,838,000 after acquiring an additional 743,369 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 134,030,679 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,154,651,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,431 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,559,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,615,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,581,427,000 after purchasing an additional 757,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,451,718 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,278,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % 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, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $163.99 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.65. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.22 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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 analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

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.