Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 273,630 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 20,624 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.9% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,011,412,000 after acquiring an additional 238,403 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,465,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,274,184,000 after purchasing an additional 418,204 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 23,263,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,237,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,476 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 43,005.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,086,250,000 after buying an additional 18,700,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,520,067 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,561,000 after buying an additional 1,102,269 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $171.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.84 and a 200 day moving average of $170.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. The trade was a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at $4,385,565. The trade was a 2.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,624 shares of company stock valued at $27,803,730 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.