Natural Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,665 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,031,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,338,900 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,394,181,000 after purchasing an additional 51,226 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,843,149,000 after acquiring an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,208,000. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 11,566 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 35,292 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,901,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.21 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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