Northwest Bank & Trust Co Makes New $3.17 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 22,468 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,166,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.9% of Northwest Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $4,101,040,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,649,838,000 after purchasing an additional 9,703,425 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $11,600,970,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 198.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,882,882 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $547,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,583,128 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,591,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $647,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $178.37. The company had a trading volume of 12,361,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,698,730. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.83 and a 1-year high of $182.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.78, for a total value of $3,347,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,310,191 shares in the company, valued at $343,710,216.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.92, for a total transaction of $266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,727 shares in the company, valued at $663,107.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.78, for a total value of $3,347,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,310,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $343,710,216.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,958 shares of company stock worth $25,805,853 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

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.