Washington Trust Bank Has $1.63 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Washington Trust Bank raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,539 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $166.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.20 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.