Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $78.73 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 406,734 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,486 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $78,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $169.00 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.01 and a one year high of $208.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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

GOOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

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.