Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,562,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 127,823 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.2% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $396,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $177.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.51. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

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.