Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,001 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 287.9% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $138.21 and a one year high of $208.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.08. 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) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.