Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,377 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.8% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,716,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,355,724,000 after buying an additional 7,470,042 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,171,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,815,986,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876,534 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,731,826 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,963,128,000 after acquiring an additional 979,083 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,558,778 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,414,179,000 after acquiring an additional 684,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Alphabet by 4.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,657,421 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,688,743,000 after purchasing an additional 636,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOG. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Pivotal Research began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.90.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $165.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.46 and a 12-month high of $193.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.18 and a 200-day moving average of $169.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.