Meitav Investment House Ltd. Increases Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 358,333 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,902 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $59,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 62.5% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,927,257.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 219,744 shares of company stock worth $35,878,764. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $172.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.93 and a fifty-two week high of $193.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $163.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.