Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 688,178 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,831 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.3% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $131,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $188.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.55 and a 52-week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.