LGT Group Foundation Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

LGT Group Foundation grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 380,408 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,809 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of LGT Group Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $72,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,347,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 127,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,987,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 119,583 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,773,000 after purchasing an additional 20,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,519 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.3 %

GOOG stock opened at $172.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.55 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

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.