Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,824,307 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 875,480 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.1% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,870,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,193,768,000 after buying an additional 5,655,022 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $831,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Alphabet by 182.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,526,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $422,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % 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. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $174.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.95 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

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.