Victrix Investment Advisors Buys Shares of 44,031 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 44,031 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,335,000. Alphabet comprises about 6.0% of Victrix Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,559,240,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567,275 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,582 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. R.H. Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. Finally, Mason & Associates Inc lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 7,027 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $166.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.90, for a total transaction of $5,066,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,652,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $413,555,306.40. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total value of $529,302.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,815,948.32. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 179,324 shares of company stock valued at $30,153,353. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

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.