Main Street Research LLC Acquires 5,772 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Main Street Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,327 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Main Street Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,746,764,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,684,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,857,154,000 after buying an additional 2,416,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,035,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,453,856,000 after buying an additional 335,219 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,064,614 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,279,955,000 after buying an additional 1,809,910 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 24,145,417 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,159,669,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,221 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $158.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $146.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.63 and a fifty-two week high of $160.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.71.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.