Hilltop Partners LLC Buys 1,324 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Hilltop Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,790 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.8% of Hilltop Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $162.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.39. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.03 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Alphabet 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.