Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 926,034 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,147 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.5% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $143,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $2.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,243,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,854,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $169.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.57. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Alphabet from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.61.

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 value of $5,553,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,620,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $447,712,890.52. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.