Aberdeen Group plc Has $1.43 Billion Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,111,474 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 252,776 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.4% of Aberdeen Group plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Alphabet worth $1,430,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307,345 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 11.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,783,364,000 after buying an additional 4,473,901 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,034,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,537,173 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 178.3% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 4,003,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $619,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $256.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $232.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $257.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.86.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.