ING Groep NV Acquires 1,672,094 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 81.3%, acquiring 1,672,094 shares and bringing its total holdings to approximately $576.6 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with Citigroup now setting a target of $225.00 and others following suit, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, scheduled for payment on September 15, representing an annual yield of 0.4%.

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 81.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,728,880 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,672,094 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.0% of ING Groep NV's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. ING Groep NV's holdings in Alphabet were worth $576,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 6.7% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,187,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $201.42 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Alphabet

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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