Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Raised by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,865 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.7% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $44,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $185.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released 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%. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.