Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Increased by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,609 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Centerpoint Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,000. bLong Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $777,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,738,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,694 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,940,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,609 shares of company stock worth $21,809,990 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $4.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.27. 11,208,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,409,787. The stock's fifty day moving average is $194.22 and its 200 day moving average is $177.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.55 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.