Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s 7th Largest Position

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,015 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,947 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.3% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $72,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $162.67 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.01 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.