Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $953,000 Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Rakuten Securities Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,699 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 360.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after buying an additional 15,848 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 32,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,100,000 after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 485,420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $73,910,000 after purchasing an additional 23,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the first quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 205,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $183.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.44. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.40 and a twelve month high of $193.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. DA Davidson raised Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 241,752 shares of company stock valued at $40,156,829. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Profile

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.