Meyer Handelman Co. Grows Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,715 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 9,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 156.9% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 48,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 29,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospect Hill Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the second quarter. Prospect Hill Management LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $192.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $183.83 and a 200-day moving average of $173.20. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654 over the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.15.

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.