Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Increased by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,338,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,394,181,000 after buying an additional 51,226 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.5% during the third quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 31,701 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,510 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $16,804,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 37.2% during the third quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,682 shares of company stock worth $17,901,024. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $169.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $188.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.01 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.