Natural Investments LLC Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) by 9.1%, now holding 36,166 shares worth approximately $6.37 million, making it the firm's 11th largest investment.
• Various other institutions, such as Nuveen LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., have also significantly modified their positions in Alphabet, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet shares, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $257.60, following a strong earnings report exceeding expectations.

Natural Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,166 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.6% of Natural Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307,345 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,783,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473,901 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Alphabet by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,034,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,537,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. raised its position in Alphabet by 178.3% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 4,003,900 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $619,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.60.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $250.46 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $233.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.31. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $257.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

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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