Baupost Group LLC MA Acquires 396,000 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,465,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 396,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 7.0% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $245,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $170.62 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.40 and a 1 year high of $193.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at $364,259,266.02. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.