Optiver Holding B.V. Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 232.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,612 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 148,634 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.0% of Optiver Holding B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Optiver Holding B.V.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" 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. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.94.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock traded down $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $160.89. 20,452,435 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,202,988. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.