M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,354,516 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 248,660 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.0% of M&G PLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. M&G PLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $390,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,279,000 after purchasing an additional 41,880 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,705,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 187,840 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,351,000 after acquiring an additional 20,572 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 7,693,292 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,161,149,000 after acquiring an additional 695,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,965 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 184,295 shares of company stock worth $30,698,791. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.90.
Read Our Latest Analysis on GOOGL
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of GOOGL traded down $3.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $174.79. The stock had a trading volume of 8,021,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,012,984. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.36.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 10.61%.
Alphabet Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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