Anchor Investment Management LLC Buys 3,279 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.8% of Anchor Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,025,322,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $24,383,677,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Alphabet by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Alphabet by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,559,240,000 after buying an additional 4,567,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,615,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,581,427,000 after purchasing an additional 757,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5 %

Alphabet stock opened at $151.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. UBS Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.