Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,484 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,756 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,484 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after buying an additional 264,962 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 70,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 157,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,351,000 after acquiring an additional 60,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $169.93 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.20 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.