Optas LLC Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Optas LLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,018 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.5% of Optas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,232,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 964.3% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 482,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,027,000 after purchasing an additional 437,345 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 872.7% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 325,089 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,815,000 after purchasing an additional 291,667 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4,516.1% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 93,568 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,187,000 after purchasing an additional 91,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $363,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,281,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,309,939. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.46 and a fifty-two week high of $193.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $182.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,209,888.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total transaction of $118,572.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,209,888.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $3,973,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,235,511 shares in the company, valued at $394,746,532.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 179,065 shares of company stock valued at $31,025,543 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.