Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 8,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %

Alphabet stock opened at $168.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.70 and a 12 month high of $176.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.73, for a total value of $119,784.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,665.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 275,129 shares of company stock valued at $40,382,765 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.