CKW Financial Group Boosts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.3% of CKW Financial Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. CKW Financial Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.82.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $15.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.95. The stock had a trading volume of 64,665,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,802,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.42. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.54 and a fifty-two week high of $174.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 30.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.