River Global Investors LLP Purchases 104,998 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

River Global Investors LLP increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,080 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104,998 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 7.9% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Alphabet by 70.6% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,279,000 after buying an additional 41,880 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 242,806 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 93.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,424 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $164.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.36. The company has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total value of $3,570,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,137,385 shares in the company, valued at $339,160,251.80. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company 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.