Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 547,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,262 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $90,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $40,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 62.5% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 230,244 shares of company stock worth $37,776,954. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0 %

Alphabet stock opened at $172.65 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.11 and a 12-month high of $193.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.63.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet 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.