Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Reduced by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,199,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 805,400 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.8% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,704,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 617,726 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,640,000 after acquiring an additional 81,063 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 6,928 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 308,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,720,000 after purchasing an additional 20,011 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,002,000 after purchasing an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 10,590 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,682 shares of company stock valued at $17,901,024 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $169.00 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.01 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $188.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.02. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.