Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires New Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 670,654 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $127,719,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.0% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dagco Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 6,866 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $43,364,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 595,557 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,418,000 after acquiring an additional 34,841 shares in the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 199.8% during the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,951 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 11,297 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value 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. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,663 shares of company stock worth $20,286,447 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,461,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,413,783. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $167.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Alphabet Company 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.