American Trust Has $4.05 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

American Trust increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 156.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,429 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,886 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $188.51 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,280,514.53. The trade was a 27.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total value of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,342,143.80. This represents a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,957 shares of company stock valued at $31,358,687. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.69.

Alphabet 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.