Signet Financial Management LLC Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,942 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.6% of Signet Financial Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunburst Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% in the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $192.29 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $202.88. The company has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.55 and a 200-day moving average of $174.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total transaction of $234,331.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,745.58. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,053 shares of company stock worth $27,559,701 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

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.