Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,056,116 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.0% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $391,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,193,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,247,208,000 after acquiring an additional 259,213 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,824,307 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,870,181,000 after purchasing an additional 875,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $166.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $185.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.67 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

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.