By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,220,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 231,364 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.4% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Alphabet worth $1,745,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $24,383,677,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 20,990.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,171,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,157,413 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Alphabet by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 29,866,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,792,317,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,621 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,559,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $629,008,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Westpark Capital raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.
Read Our Latest Research Report on GOOGL
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $146.75 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.25 and a 200-day moving average of $176.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.
See Also
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