Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,922 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.8% of Hills Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $167.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.13 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.