USS Investment Management Ltd Raises Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,086,101 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145,421 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of USS Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $205,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $166.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $158.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,744 shares of company stock worth $20,968,366 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

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.