Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $96.29 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 143,232 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.5% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $96,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,104 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 11,015 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,098,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $5,283,000. Finally, Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. now owns 105,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,178,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $167.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.13 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,882 shares of company stock worth $17,934,130. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Company 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.