Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Plato Investment Management Ltd's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 7.1%, making it the 7th largest position in their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $18.7 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, have increased their positions in Alphabet, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Alphabet's stock recently reached a market cap of $2.90 trillion and has a consensus price target of $227.56, reflecting a Moderate Buy rating from analysts.

Plato Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,630 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,006 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.6% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,971,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243,959 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,494,655,000 after purchasing an additional 769,335 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Alphabet by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,334,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,380,073 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,183,979,000 after acquiring an additional 440,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $239.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. 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 moving average of $199.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.55. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $240.59.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.