Fluent Financial LLC Acquires 1,392 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Fluent Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.4% of Fluent Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 587.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,690,326 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,772,991,000 after acquiring an additional 9,135,056 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275,757 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $68,980,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,374,756 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 18,810.2% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,434,260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $807,700,000 after buying an additional 4,410,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 143.7% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,072,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,288,201,000 after buying an additional 4,170,229 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $163.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.37 and a 200 day moving average of $167.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid 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 was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.95.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,765,346. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total value of $3,759,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,129,306 shares in the company, valued at $355,743,153.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 216,092 shares of company stock worth $35,644,136 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.