Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s 8th Largest Position

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,552,414 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,784 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.8% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $293,872,000 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 GOOGL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,871,384,000 after purchasing an additional 337,031 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $8,960,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 17,080 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after buying an additional 8,242 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86,135 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,285,000 after buying an additional 13,642 shares during the period. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,897 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock worth $20,286,447. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.74.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $151.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.88.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

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.