Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $101.59 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 536,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $101,592,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.6% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 586,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $111,038,000 after buying an additional 21,088 shares during the period. Custos Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Clarity Wealth Development LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Taylor Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $154.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.22 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.