Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 85.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,346 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.8% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $38,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 29,159 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,109,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its holdings in Alphabet by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 16,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,647 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $620,000. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $158.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.48. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $121.46 and a one year high of $193.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 202,667 shares of company stock worth $34,341,581 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.86.

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.