Challenger Wealth Management Acquires New Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,284 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,000. Alphabet accounts for about 1.8% of Challenger Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

GOOGL opened at $168.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $158.57 and its 200 day moving average is $174.87.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.75.

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.