Westwind Capital Boosts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Westwind Capital raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.0% of Westwind Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Westwind Capital’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its position in Alphabet by 87.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.40. 11,599,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,196,203. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $182.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.55 and a 12 month high of $202.88.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.