Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 970,989 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,202 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $184,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. FMR LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,193,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,247,208,000 after acquiring an additional 259,213 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,573,125,000 after buying an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,824,307 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,870,181,000 after buying an additional 875,480 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,578,793,000 after buying an additional 1,291,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $2.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.60. 10,707,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,983,252. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.