Enhancing Capital LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 6,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,525,560 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,789,000 after buying an additional 6,882 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $101,592,000. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 586,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $111,038,000 after purchasing an additional 21,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custos Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $285,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $154.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.22 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus 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.