MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Purchases 11,714 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 238,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,714 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.3% of MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the third quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% in the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total transaction of $234,331.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,516,745.58. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock opened at $200.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $203.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

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.