Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,266,291 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,375,509,000. Alphabet accounts for about 2.7% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of Alphabet as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 worth $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after buying an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 164,654 shares of company stock valued at $26,793,380. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.36. The stock had a trading volume of 34,466,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,799,558. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

About Alphabet

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.