Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Orca Investment Management LLC

Orca Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,273 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.6% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 165.8% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $171.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.16 and a twelve month high of $174.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.40 and a 200-day moving average of $142.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.60.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.73, for a total transaction of $119,784.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,665.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.73, for a total transaction of $119,784.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,665.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,629 shares of company stock valued at $37,091,240. 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.