Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $727.36 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,385,621 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 364,348 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.2% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $727,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 49,857,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,268,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,385 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,011,412,000 after buying an additional 238,403 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 37,233,079 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,175,106,000 after purchasing an additional 523,416 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,465,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,274,184,000 after purchasing an additional 418,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 23,263,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,237,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.03.

Alphabet Stock Up 5.6 %

GOOGL opened at $185.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $169.70 and its 200 day moving average is $170.21. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.68 and a fifty-two week high of $191.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. This represents a 2.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,923 shares of company stock valued at $34,244,676. Company insiders own 11.55% 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.