United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $21.78 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 155,910 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.4% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meritage Group LP increased its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% during 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 period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $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 worth $55,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 301.5% in 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 period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $158.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. 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 52-week low of $102.63 and a 52-week high of $160.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during 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 posted $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $174.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $178.00) 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.71.

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.