Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is KBC Group NV's 4th Largest Position

KBC Group NV cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,580,964 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,505,221 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 3.2% of KBC Group NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.05% of Alphabet worth $1,028,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ GOOG traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $176.91. 24,840,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,129,938. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.80. 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 $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total transaction of $5,553,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,620,196 shares in the company, valued at $447,712,890.52. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business'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 $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $35,682,228 over the last 90 days. 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.