Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Boosts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 207,805 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,243 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 140.6% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,734 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Benchmark restated a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.94.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $172.56. 12,347,197 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,146,811. 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 fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.