Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owns $15.16 million worth of shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, the company disclosed in its most recent filing with the SEC on Form 13F. The company owned 108,496 shares of the information services provider after selling 8,165 shares during the quarter. Alphabet represents approximately 1.7% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,156,000 at the end of the last quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also changed their holdings in the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 105,629 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,755,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in Alphabet by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 1,585,865 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $221,529,000 after acquiring an additional 646,710 shares in the last quarter. NWK Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. NWK Group Inc. now owns 47,666 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,658,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,144,402 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,975,832,000 after acquiring an additional 41,886 shares during the period. Finally, Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,969,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Price development of Alphabet shares

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $172.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.15, and a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.35 and a 52-week high of $178.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.41 and a 200-day moving average of $148.29. The company has a market cap of $2.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 1.30, and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25. The information services provider reported earnings per share of $1.89 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company reported earnings per share of $1.17. Research analysts expect Alphabet Inc. to report earnings per share of 7.6 for the current year.

Alphabet announces dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will receive a dividend of $0.20. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.80 and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the Chief Accounting Officer now directly owns 28,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the sale, the Chief Accounting Officer now directly owns 28,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC's website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 06. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the CEO now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 205,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,165,165, in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the shares are owned by company insiders.

Changes in analyst ratings

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports lately. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26. Five analysts have rated the stock with a “hold,” thirty have given a “buy” rating, and two have given a “strong buy” rating. The company currently has a consensus rating of “moderate buy” and a consensus price target of $191.57, according to data from MarketBeat.com.

Read our latest report on Alphabet

Alphabet Company Profile

(Free report)

Alphabet Inc. offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. The company operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment offers products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

See also

Want to see which other hedge funds hold GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report).

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