Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Bought by Essex LLC

Essex LLC raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.0% of Essex LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Essex LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $38,000. Meritage Group LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $154.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.54. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.63 and a 52-week high of $160.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $174.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.41.

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.