Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Boosted by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.4% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $159.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,043.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

GOOG stock opened at $155.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.46 and its 200 day moving average is $141.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.27 and a 1-year high of $161.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.