Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 38,164 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,155,602 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 38,164 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $360,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $170.82 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.40 and a fifty-two week high of $193.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Pivotal Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson raised Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Alphabet Company 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.