Safeguard Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Safeguard Financial LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Interstate Bank raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 8,833 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $1,360,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 35,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,371,000 after acquiring an additional 5,159 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Alphabet by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,096,558 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,468,000 after acquiring an additional 151,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,960,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $157.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $147.35 and its 200-day moving average is $141.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.27 and a 52 week high of $161.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.86.

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.