Fiera Capital Corp Has $1.23 Billion Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 17.1% during the first quarter, holding approximately 7.97 million shares worth over $1.23 billion.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Alphabet's future, with many raising their price targets and ratings, resulting in a consensus average target of $211.53 for the stock.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payout date set for September 15th, 2023, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Fiera Capital Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,965,865 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,639,547 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.5% of Fiera Capital Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.07% of Alphabet worth $1,231,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. FMR LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,025,322,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100,902 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16,993.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,483,898,000 after purchasing an additional 15,968,487 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $196.52. 26,014,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,916,484. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.76 and a 200-day moving average of $173.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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.