503,936 Shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Acquired by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased 503,936 shares of Alphabet Inc. for approximately $78.7 million, making Alphabet 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported a better-than-expected EPS of $2.31 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.12.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 503,936 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $78,721,000. Alphabet makes up 1.2% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, jvl associates llc increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $197.28. The stock had a trading volume of 14,292,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,208,792. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

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.