First National Bank of Hutchinson Buys 9,329 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 46.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,329 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.4% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after acquiring an additional 14,738 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its stake in Alphabet by 172.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 57,810 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $166.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.67 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.52 and a 200-day moving average of $178.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.