Kaizen Financial Strategies Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Kaizen Financial Strategies raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,790 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.3% of Kaizen Financial Strategies’ portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Tolleson Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $411,000. Westshore Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westshore Wealth LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 3,730 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 33.0% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 20.0% in the second quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 5,986 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.6% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $152.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.29 and a twelve month high of $155.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.61, for a total value of $59,334.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,805,628.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.61, for a total value of $59,334.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,805,628.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 251,138 shares of company stock worth $35,427,655. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $146.33.

Alphabet Company 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.