Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Invests $19.09 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 100,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,092,000. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $167.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.20 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $182.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.