Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $17.96 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 127,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,490 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.3% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. now owns 82 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 252 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Somerville Kurt F boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 118 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,301,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $157.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.27 and a fifty-two week high of $161.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.35 and its 200 day moving average is $141.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.