Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 130.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,080,060 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,307,801 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.0% of Cerity Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $569,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 487,435,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,785,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,104 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,746,764,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070,681 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,900.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,154,306 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,770,809,000 after purchasing an additional 206,300,042 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 111,197.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170,420,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,036,178,000 after purchasing an additional 170,267,122 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 118,576,618 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,271,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,107 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $156.01 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.63 and a 12 month high of $160.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Alphabet from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Alphabet from $144.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.97.

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.