Voya Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,502,936 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,318,297 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.1% of Voya Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Alphabet worth $1,004,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

GOOGL opened at $240.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $242.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wedbush increased their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

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.