Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Has $10.23 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,119,000. Optivise Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in Alphabet by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absolute Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock valued at $32,036,638. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.3%

GOOGL stock opened at $173.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current 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 is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

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.