Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Buys 11,694 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,339 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,694 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 3.6% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $52,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock traded up $2.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.85. 35,100,087 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,459,690. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week 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 $2.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $164.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.94.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647. 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.