Ameriflex Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 8,407 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,407 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,728,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.8% of Ameriflex Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,438,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 64,768 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,216,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

GOOG stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $172.73. 11,845,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,970,248. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 164,654 shares of company stock valued at $26,793,380 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.