UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $7.46 Billion Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,391,619 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,066,231 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.7% of UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.32% of Alphabet worth $7,456,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,025,322,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,744 shares of company stock valued at $20,968,366. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $166.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

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.

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