Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Raised by WP Advisors LLC

WP Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,797 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,712 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.9% of WP Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,193,768,000 after buying an additional 5,655,022 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 182.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,526,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $422,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,701 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.0% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 9,903,537 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,655,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,671 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,299 shares of company stock worth $25,055,751. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2 %

GOOG opened at $181.19 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.55 and a twelve month high of $208.70. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.58. The company has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 0.44%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.