Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Means Investment CO. Inc. increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 119,480 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.4% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 123,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Family Investment Center Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $434,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,077 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,709,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,557 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,011,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $193.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.