Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Acquired by Polar Capital Holdings Plc

Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,865,626 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 346,665 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.0% of Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $353,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $165.37 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total value of $529,302.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,815,948.32. This trade represents a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.