Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 21,334 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 21,334 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,007,000. Alphabet makes up 2.2% of Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,649,838,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703,425 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $11,600,970,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,234,117 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,852,868,000 after buying an additional 4,348,188 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 198.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,882,882 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $547,215,000 after buying an additional 2,583,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Alphabet by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,591,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $647,064,000 after buying an additional 2,222,950 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.65 and its 200-day moving average is $142.12. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $103.27 and a one year high of $161.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.86.

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.