Crux Wealth Advisors Takes $2.45 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,950 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,451,000. Alphabet accounts for 1.4% of Crux Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aquire Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Aquire Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 72,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,698,000 after buying an additional 2,597 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,029 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 5,394 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $153.33 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.98. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group set a $190.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Ten equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.46.

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.