19,148 Shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Acquired by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,148 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,675,000. Alphabet accounts for about 2.3% of New Century Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP grew 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 55.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,402.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 205,935 shares of company stock worth $31,178,987 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $173.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.35 and a fifty-two week high of $178.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.13 and a 200-day moving average of $146.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Redburn Atlantic lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.60.

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.