Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by Norinchukin Bank The

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 29%, owning 302,242 shares, valued at approximately $47.2 million.
• Several major investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, also raised their positions in Alphabet during the first quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 8th, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 29.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 302,242 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 67,878 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of Norinchukin Bank The's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Alphabet were worth $47,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,664,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $6.10 on Friday, hitting $206.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,689,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,142,382. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $209.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 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 moving average of $187.71 and a 200-day moving average of $174.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.