Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Holdings Trimmed by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,047,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 152,500 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.5% of Swiss National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.12% of Alphabet worth $2,194,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% during 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,455,571,000 after acquiring an additional 294,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in 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 valued at $6,494,655,000 after acquiring an additional 769,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $197.28 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 over the last 90 days. 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.

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