Argent Trust Co Has $50.33 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,867 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.1% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $50,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.72.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.7 %

GOOGL stock opened at $156.31 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.17 and a 200-day moving average of $176.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 115,663 shares of company stock worth $20,286,447. 11.55% 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.