Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,074,214 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $204,262,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.2% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,193,768,000 after buying an additional 5,655,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% in the 3rd 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 valued at $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG traded up $4.81 on Thursday, reaching $201.99. The stock had a trading volume of 8,075,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,824,231. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.03 and a 200 day moving average of $175.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.55 and a twelve month high of $203.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.80.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 122,887 shares of company stock valued at $22,470,464. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.