Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Independence Bank of Kentucky’s 7th Largest Position

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,534 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.5% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFC Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,762,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,615,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 3,056 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 74,510 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total value of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $185.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Alphabet Company 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.