Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Keystone Financial Services

Keystone Financial Services increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,564 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of Keystone Financial Services’ holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Keystone Financial Services’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its position in Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,609 shares of company stock worth $21,809,990 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.1 %

GOOG stock opened at $186.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.