Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Decreased by Jericho Financial LLP

Jericho Financial LLP cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,839 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 4.3% of Jericho Financial LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Jericho Financial LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 target price (up previously from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $265.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.10.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 222,396 shares of company stock worth $54,105,275. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $278.83 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $291.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $251.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

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.