Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is WP Advisors LLC’s 4th Largest Position

WP Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,797 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,712 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 5.9% of WP Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $181.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.58. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS 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 0.44%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet 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.