Defined Financial Planning LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Defined Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,901 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,376,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221,746 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5,712.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $831,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,380,605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Westpark Capital began coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,297 shares of company stock worth $20,804,770. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $159.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.50 and a 200 day moving average of $177.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.