Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 382,273 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,072,827 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 382,273 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.6% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $585,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $164.08 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $182.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.20 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G 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 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.