Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Acquires 6,151 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. has significantly increased its investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter of the year. According to the firm’s most recent 13F filing with the SEC, it now holds a total of 16,660 shares of the tech giant after purchasing an additional 6,151 shares during this quarter. Alphabet now constitutes approximately 0.6% of Thurston’s overall investment portfolio, making it the 27th largest holding in their portfolio. As of the filing, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s stake in Alphabet was valued at around $3,154,000.

Other Institutional Investments

In addition to Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc., numerous other institutional investors and hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Alphabet. For instance, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its investment in Alphabet by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, acquiring an additional 33,921 shares to bring its total holdings to 231,919 shares, valued at approximately $43,902,000. Similarly, Kathmere Capital Management LLC enhanced its stake by 27.8%, buying 1,851 additional shares and bringing its total to 8,519 shares valued at $1,613,000.

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC also raised its Alphabet stake by 23.9%, purchasing an extra 11,944 shares to reach a total of 61,885 shares worth about $11,715,000. Meanwhile, Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings by 0.5%, now owning 420,032 shares with a total value of $79,512,000 after acquiring 1,989 shares. Furthermore, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its investment by 6.7%, buying 11,002 more shares to own a total of 174,972 shares estimated at $33,122,000. Presently, hedge funds and other institutional investors own approximately 40.03% of Alphabet's stock.

Analysts’ Predictions and Ratings

Numerous analysts have recently remarked on Alphabet’s stock performance. Truist Financial raised its price target for Alphabet shares from $220.00 to $225.00 and maintains a "buy" rating. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating in a recent report, while Citizens JMP revised its rating on Alphabet from "strong-buy" to "hold." Additionally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted its target price from $180.00 to $185.00, assigning a "market perform" rating, and Wells Fargo & Company adjusted its target from $187.00 to $190.00, giving the company an "equal weight" rating. Currently, the general consensus among nine analysts suggests the stock has a "Moderate Buy" status, with a target price average of $208.15.

Insider Trading Activity

On a separate note, there has been insider trading activity at Alphabet. On November 4th, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares at an average price of $171.06 for a total of $75,437.46. Following this transaction, Arnold holds 16,490 shares in Alphabet, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40, which is a decrease of 2.60% from her previous stake. Similarly, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares on December 16th at an average price of $197.55, totaling $559,856.70, which dropped her ownership to 20,681 shares worth $4,085,531.55, reflecting a 12.05% decline. Over the past ninety days, insiders have collectively sold 133,387 shares valued at $24,368,654, and currently, company insiders hold 11.55% of Alphabet's total stock.

Alphabet's Stock Performance

As of Friday, GOOGL shares opened at $192.91. Over the past twelve months, Alphabet has witnessed a low of $130.66 and a high of $201.42. The stock’s fifty-day moving average stands at $183.83, while the 200-day moving average is at $173.20. The company’s current ratio is 1.95, the quick ratio is similar at 1.95, and its debt-to-equity ratio is low at 0.04. Alphabet boasts a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58 and a P/E/G ratio of 1.22.

In terms of earnings, Alphabet disclosed its quarterly earnings on October 29, revealing earnings per share of $2.12, which surpassed expectations of $1.83 by $0.29. The company reported a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%, with revenue reaching $88.27 billion, exceeding the predicted amount of $72.85 billion. Analysts anticipate Alphabet will report earnings of around $8.03 per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

Recently, Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on December 16. Shareholders who were on record as of December 9 received a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was also December 9. This indicates an annualized dividend of $0.80 and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s current payout ratio stands at 10.61%.

Overview of Alphabet Inc.

Alphabet Inc. operates a broad range of products and platforms across various regions including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. Its business segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. Within the Google Services segment, Alphabet offers a variety of products and services such as advertisements, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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