First National Bank of Hutchinson Buys 9,329 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 46.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,329 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.4% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after purchasing an additional 14,738 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 172.9% in the third quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 57,810 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of GOOG opened at $166.28 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.67 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research 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 issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.