ZEGA Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 9,764 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,764 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,971,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 287.9% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Alphabet stock opened at $166.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.94. The company has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.20 and a 1-year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.