Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 536,672 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $101,592,000. Alphabet comprises about 2.6% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% in the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,871,384,000 after acquiring an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 213,673 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 224,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,223,000 after acquiring an additional 13,799 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 141,204 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $23,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the business'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 transaction 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 approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.49.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.04. 24,682,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,382,781. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $177.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $147.22 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.