Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Buys 115 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $172.79 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $148.20 and a one year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $183.56 and its 200-day moving average is $178.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” 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 assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.