Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Virtu Financial LLC’s Largest Position

Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 33.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,571,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 392,086 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 15.8% of Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $297,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7 %

GOOGL opened at $170.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $147.22 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.