Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,024,516 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 342,101 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.3% of CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $766,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,663 shares of company stock worth $20,286,447 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.0 %

Alphabet stock opened at $155.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.67. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.88.

Alphabet Company 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.