Synergy Financial Group LTD Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Synergy Financial Group LTD increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $195.42 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.97. The company has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.08.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 178,957 shares of company stock valued at $31,358,687. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.