Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,041,511 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,595 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $145,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 19,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,018 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,765,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 18,017 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 91.8% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 959 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $156.00 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.63 and a 12-month high of $160.22. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.71.

Alphabet 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.