Lafayette Investments Inc. Acquires 751 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 165.8% during the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in Alphabet by 301.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $171.95 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.54 and a twelve month high of $174.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.85 and its 200 day moving average is $141.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Alphabet from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.82.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.