Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 842,767 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,282 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.0% of Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Alphabet were worth $163,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $1,551,533,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% in 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 buying an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after buying an additional 7,221,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after buying an additional 5,758,244 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $160.89 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $160.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.86. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share 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 given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Benchmark reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,824 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total value of $529,302.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,815,948.32. The trade was a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.90, for a total transaction of $5,066,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,652,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,555,306.40. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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