Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Raised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 34.2%, acquiring an additional 17,334 shares to reach a total of 68,072 shares, valued at approximately $10.63 million.
• Alphabet's recent earnings report indicated a profit of $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations and reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year revenue growth of $96.43 billion.
• Directors of Alphabet sold a combined 254,719 shares worth over $47 million in the past ninety days, indicating insider trading activity amid fluctuating stock performance.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 34.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,072 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,334 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $2,622,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,237,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,573 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Alphabet by 9.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,971,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total value of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,281,408.64. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $208.08. 10,085,241 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,641,301. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $211.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $188.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.21 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Alphabet Company 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.