2,684,000 Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Purchased by Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P.

Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGLFree Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,684,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $652,480,000. Alphabet comprises about 6.8% of Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 17,667.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after acquiring an additional 15,159,273 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 51.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,607,232,000 after purchasing an additional 10,843,853 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total transaction of $9,859,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock valued at $107,809,111 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $305.56 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $349.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $318.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGLGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.18.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GOOGL

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Alphabet Profile

(Free Report)

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Receive News & Ratings for Alphabet Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alphabet and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.