Kera Capital Partners Inc. Makes New $3.17 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,174,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Beck Bode LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 67,523 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,385,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 17,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% in the second quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 687,740 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $126,145,000 after purchasing an additional 11,490 shares during the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.1% in the second quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 26,247 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 94.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 159,321 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,223,000 after buying an additional 77,530 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of GOOG opened at $197.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $202.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.76. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.