Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 883 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,466 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 883 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $200.03 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $203.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.56 and its 200-day moving average is $174.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted 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. Scotiabank began coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,672,512.16. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654 over the last three months. Corporate 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.