Achmea Investment Management B.V. Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 848,969 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,272 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.6% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $160,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 20,990.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,151,000 after buying an additional 6,157,413 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 29,866,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,792,317,000 after acquiring an additional 4,694,621 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,559,240,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567,275 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $513,024,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 134,030,679 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,154,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $167.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.73.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

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.