Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 58,993 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.8% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Manchester Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 22,542 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 76 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 and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James increased 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $159.86.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.27 and a 52-week high of $161.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.12.

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company 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.