GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 703,666 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $134,006,000. Alphabet makes up about 2.9% of GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.
Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hutchinson Capital Management CA boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 3,555 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%
GOOG traded down $2.39 on Monday, hitting $169.59. The company had a trading volume of 24,910,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,117,989. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $160.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.56. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.
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Alphabet Profile
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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.
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