Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Raised by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 476,402 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,412 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.0% of Bailard Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $83,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Gimbal Financial lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 2,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the second quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $318.58 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $319.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.00. The company has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.80, for a total transaction of $32,681.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,567.20. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total transaction of $168,036.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,750.96. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 225,174 shares of company stock worth $58,095,223 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $233.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.65.

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.