MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,181,999 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,029 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of MML Investors Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $196,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $196.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $199.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. KeyCorp raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.08.

Alphabet Profile

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.