Korea Investment CORP Sells 108,826 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,952,116 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 108,826 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.8% of Korea Investment CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $752,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,376,066,000 after buying an additional 7,221,746 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $831,810,000 after buying an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 10.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $328,018,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $167.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.20 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

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.