Putney Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 41,154 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,790,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.4% of Putney Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Amiral Gestion purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,687,000. Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $825,000. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.5%

Alphabet stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $171.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,806,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,792,310. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $159.04 and its 200 day moving average is $174.73. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. 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:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 164,654 shares of company stock valued at $26,793,380 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently 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.