Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is KBC Group NV’s 4th Largest Position

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,992,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,045,403 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 4.0% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,336,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 360.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 15,848 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 32,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,980,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,100,000 after acquiring an additional 13,756 shares during the period. Elite Life Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Elite Life Management LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’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 value of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 207,495 shares of company stock worth $34,586,641 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $180.49 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.50. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.40 and a twelve month high of $193.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.