Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Boosted by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 306,736 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,823 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.3% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $58,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,740 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 358,102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $67,789,000 after purchasing an additional 14,483 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,079,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 204,185 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,652,000 after buying an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.49.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $159.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,497 shares of company stock worth $20,837,150 in the last three months. 11.55% 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.