Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Raised by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,741,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in Alphabet by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,262 shares during the period. Absolute Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 37,054 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $151.08 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $165.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.74.

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.