Freshford Capital Management LLC Invests $38.66 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Freshford Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 204,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,655,000. Alphabet comprises about 11.0% of Freshford Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $151.47 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. 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 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wedbush set a $190.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.