Barnett & Company Inc. Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Lynx Investment Advisory raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,666 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $1,455,000. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 115.2% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $166.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.20 and a 1-year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

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.