Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 614,214 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,518 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $86,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $159.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares in the company, valued at $347,832,416.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.12. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.27 and a 12 month high of $161.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.