Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Lifted by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 278,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,983 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.9% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 61,587.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 130,046,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,539,004,000 after purchasing an additional 129,835,437 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 1,807.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,069,444 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,487,226,000 after purchasing an additional 54,077,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,059,614,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Alphabet by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 71,779,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,368,961,000 after purchasing an additional 19,612,974 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alphabet by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,649,838,000 after purchasing an additional 9,703,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $155.72 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.27 and a 52-week high of $161.70. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total transaction of $127,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,043.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,516,961.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.86.

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.