Associated Banc Corp Buys 11,704 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Associated Banc Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748,336 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,704 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.5% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $115,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $201.00 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $181.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 274,219 shares of company stock worth $49,674,273. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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.