Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,001,738 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,842 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.3% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $190,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,551,533,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $0.48 on Tuesday, hitting $168.35. The company had a trading volume of 13,685,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,722,269. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day moving average price is $160.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $90.23 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%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,744 shares of company stock valued at $20,968,366 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.