Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 139,613 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.6% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $85,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 7,841 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $667,000. ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,971,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,427,000. Finally, Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 8,539 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $166.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.20 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $184.37 and its 200 day moving average is $177.94.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % 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, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.