Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Increased by Giverny Capital Inc.

Giverny Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,342 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 109,162 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 5.3% of Giverny Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $143,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $3.18 on Wednesday, hitting $155.50. 16,903,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,400,727. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.83.

Remove Ads

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447 over the last ninety days. Company 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.