Freedom Investment Management Inc. Buys 4,166 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $151.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.91. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.74.

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.