Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 223,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,622 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 28,428 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,414,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 7,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 21,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $197.55 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $202.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.76.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

About Alphabet

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.