Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,866 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.5% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.98. 21,087,028 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,735,842. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.79 and a 12-month high of $176.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total value of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total value of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.67.

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.