Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Bought by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.7% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $55,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $175.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.90 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.40.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.90.

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.