Bard Financial Services Inc. Has $11.19 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,090 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.3% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $473,929.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $5.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $197.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,307,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,883,203. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.46. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $201.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given 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 a consensus price target of $206.82.

About Alphabet

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.