Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,483 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,376,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,221,746 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $831,810,000 after buying an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $164.08 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.20 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $182.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its 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%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.