Vest Financial LLC Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,826 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Denver PWM LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $185.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $192.85 and a 200 day moving average of $175.20. The company has a market cap of $2.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.66 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.