Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Lifted by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,641 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,140 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $158.86 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.20 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $179.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.56.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,029.04. The trade was a 13.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,297 shares of company stock valued at $15,936,270. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.65.

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.