Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Lifted by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824,748 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,443 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $127,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,025,322,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100,902 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16,993.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,483,898,000 after acquiring an additional 15,968,487 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,135,430 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,635,878,000 after acquiring an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.67. 27,636,835 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,391,108. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.