Hartford Financial Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 99,755 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,678,000 after buying an additional 4,120 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 211,014 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,279,000 after buying an additional 14,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $172.65 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.11 and a 52-week high of $193.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,460. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 230,244 shares of company stock valued at $37,776,954. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet 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.