Demars Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 467,911 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 467,911 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $89,109,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 181,679.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,376,066,000 after buying an additional 7,221,746 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $831,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,689 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,380,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.36. 19,461,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,435,374. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Benchmark reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.