Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Has $5.14 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 3.6% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $343,000. Shira Ridge Wealth Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Shira Ridge Wealth Management now owns 6,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,557 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,031 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8 %

Alphabet stock opened at $183.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GOOGL. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,029 shares of company stock worth $12,625,003 in the last ninety days. 11.55% 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.