HTLF Bank Invests $12.84 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

HTLF Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 91,898 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,837,000. Alphabet comprises 1.5% of HTLF Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Meritage Group LP increased its position in Alphabet by 1,061.5% during 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. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 301.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James upped their price objective on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $171.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.39. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.54 and a 12-month high of $174.71.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.