Hodges Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total transaction of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 4.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $196.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.66 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.