Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires 4,567 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 31.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,167 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,567 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $191.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.46. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.68 and a 52-week high of $195.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,590,960. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,123 shares of company stock valued at $34,121,676. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.08.

Alphabet 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.