NS Partners Ltd Buys 4,489 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

NS Partners Ltd raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 709,046 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,489 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 4.9% of NS Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $110,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $197.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.