Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Boosted by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,070,862 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 934,817 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 7.6% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $708,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 16,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,187.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,187.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 205,935 shares of company stock worth $31,178,987. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8 %

GOOGL opened at $174.99 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.35 and a 52 week high of $178.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.57.

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.