Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 231,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $44,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9 %

Alphabet stock opened at $185.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.