Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,908,021 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,481 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.6% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $449,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,695,000. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.36. 40,387,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,635,871. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $169.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.67.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.13.

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.