LGT Group Foundation Acquires 641,229 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

LGT Group Foundation increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 61.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,679,470 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 641,229 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.6% of LGT Group Foundation’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $305,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at $403,141,173.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $161.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $191.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

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.