Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,575 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its position in Alphabet by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Manchester Financial Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 22,542 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,177,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG traded up $14.90 on Friday, reaching $172.85. The stock had a trading volume of 45,431,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,496,963. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.42 and a twelve month high of $176.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.48 and a 200 day moving average of $142.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.86.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,043.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.