Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 563,979 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,782,000. Alphabet makes up 2.5% of Sapient Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 487,435,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,785,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,104 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,746,764,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070,681 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1,900.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,154,306 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,770,809,000 after purchasing an additional 206,300,042 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 111,197.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170,420,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,178,000 after acquiring an additional 170,267,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 118,576,618 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,271,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,107 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $156.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.63 and a 12-month high of $160.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $144.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $174.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.