ING Groep NV Sells 104,327 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

ING Groep NV decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,400,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 104,327 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.4% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $234,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $177.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.57. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.40 and a 52-week high of $193.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.56.

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.