United Asset Strategies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,910 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.4% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 61,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,664 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.6% in the third quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 15,747 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.0% during the third quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,416,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,908,000 after acquiring an additional 104,366 shares during the period. Finally, NatWest Group plc raised its position in Alphabet by 239.0% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 100,793 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,080,000 after acquiring an additional 71,057 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $158.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.93. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.63 and a 12 month high of $160.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Redburn Atlantic raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% 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.