Trek Financial LLC Purchases 63,100 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Trek Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 164.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 101,539 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,100 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.4% of Trek Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,991,725 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,470,344,000 after buying an additional 3,189,592 shares in the last quarter. Gemsstock Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Gemsstock Ltd. now owns 153,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,137,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,763 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,730 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,376,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $147.74 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $147.54 and a one year high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470. 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.