Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,270 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after buying an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% during 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,380,605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $195.75 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $179.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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