Sheets Smith Investment Management Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc.

During the fourth quarter, Sheets Smith Investment Management established a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) according to their recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The investment firm acquired 7,640 shares of Alphabet, totaling around $1,455,000.

Institutional Investors Adjust Their Holdings

Other institutional investors have also made significant adjustments to their positions involving Alphabet. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in the company during the fourth quarter, valued at approximately $1.55 billion. Meanwhile, FMR LLC increased its ownership by 5.2% during the third quarter and now holds 114,802,133 shares worth about $19.19 billion after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares in that period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC made a notable increase, raising its stake in Alphabet by a staggering 5,712.8% in the fourth quarter, resulting in ownership of 4,367,831 shares valued at $831.81 million after purchasing 4,292,689 more shares. UBS Asset Management Americas LLC also elevated its stake by 10.3% in the third quarter, now owning 33,334,082 shares valued at roughly $5.57 billion, with an additional 3,113,395 shares bought during that time. Lastly, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS entered a new investment in Alphabet during the fourth quarter, worth around $328 million. Overall, institutional investors hold 27.26% of the company's stock.

Recent Insider Trading Activities

In recent developments concerning insider trading at Alphabet, there have been several notable transactions. On February 21st, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares at an average price of $183.48, generating a total of $3,245,761.20. After this sale, Porat owns 1,449,286 shares valued at approximately $265.91 million, which marked a 1.21% decrease in her holdings. Another transaction occurred on December 30th when insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares at an average price of $192.62, achieving a total value of $3,239,868.40. This sale reduced Walker's shares to 43,981, now worth around $8.47 million, reflecting a decrease of 27.66% in his ownership. In total, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17.37 million in the past three months, while corporate insiders possess 12.99% of Alphabet's stock.

Analysts Provide Positive Outlook

Wall Street analysts have shown confidence in Alphabet's future. The Goldman Sachs Group has reaffirmed a "buy" rating on the company's shares, reflecting positive sentiment. Similarly, Morgan Stanley has listed Alphabet with an "overweight" rating, while Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating. Scotiabank upgraded its price target for Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00, also issuing a "sector outperform" rating. However, Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to "hold". Overall, consensus from analysts includes one sell rating, six hold ratings, fourteen buy ratings, and three strong buy ratings for the stock, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Recent Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $166.25 on Monday. The company has a fifty-day moving average of $184.37 and a 200-day moving average of $178.22. Alphabet's stock has reached a 52-week low of $148.20 and a high of $208.70. The stock's market capitalization is approximately $2.03 trillion. It has a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a PEG ratio of 1.34, alongside a beta of 1.03.

Quarterly Earnings Report

In its latest quarterly earnings report released on February 4th, Alphabet announced earnings of $2.15 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. The company maintains a robust return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will achieve an EPS of 8.89 for the current year.

Dividend Information

Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend, distributed on March 17th. Shareholders of record as of March 10th received a dividend of $0.20 per share, aggregating to an annualized dividend of $0.80, equating to a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was also March 10th, with Alphabet's dividend payout ratio currently at 9.94%.

Company Overview

Alphabet Inc. is a global technology and information services company providing a wide range of products and platforms across various regions, including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. The company operates through multiple segments, such as Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment encompasses products and services such as advertising, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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