7,266,291 Shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,266,291 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,375,509,000. Alphabet accounts for 2.7% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.06% of Alphabet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $4.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.90. 37,917,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,780,742. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

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.