Westpac Banking Corp Has $35.74 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,854 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 49,206 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 61,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,591,000 after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 214,443 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,956,000 after acquiring an additional 76,410 shares during the period. Robbins Farley increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 15,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.22, for a total transaction of $3,897,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,258,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,132,665.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 276,511 shares of company stock valued at $41,234,695 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $176.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.35 and a 12-month high of $176.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

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.