Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Boosted by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,695,835 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,385 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 3.4% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $322,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in Alphabet by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,262 shares during the period. Absolute Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $155.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.47. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. DZ Bank lowered Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total transaction of $5,075,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,685,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,320,207.36. The trade was a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647 in the last ninety days. 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.