Ninety One North America Inc. Grows Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ninety One North America Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 47.2%, bringing their total holdings to 373,856 shares valued at approximately $65.9 million.
• Recent insider trading activity includes Alphabet's Director Frances Arnold selling 103 shares and CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares, indicating a slight decrease in their ownership.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with a consensus average target of $242.98 and several ratings categorized as Strong Buy and Buy.

Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 373,856 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 119,806 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.2% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $65,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at $584,699,785.79. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Westpark Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.98.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $245.76 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $223.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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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