Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,263 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,961 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $4,101,040,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Alphabet by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,649,838,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703,425 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $11,600,970,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 198.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,882,882 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $547,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Alphabet by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,591,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $647,064,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222,950 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $176.45 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.83 and a fifty-two week high of $182.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.29.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total value of $266,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $663,107.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $3,973,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,235,511 shares in the company, valued at $394,746,532.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,958 shares of company stock worth $22,383,553 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

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.