Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.0%, now owning 1,376,183 shares valued at approximately $204.2 million, making it the fund's fourth-largest holding.
• Several large institutional investors, including Hudson Value Partners LLC, have recently raised their positions in Alphabet, indicating continued confidence in the company's stock.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, reflecting a strong financial base and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,376,183 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,308 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.5% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Alphabet were worth $204,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,490,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 13,564 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Alphabet stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $208.11. 5,557,641 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,088,793. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $210.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid 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 yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.53.

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.