Algert Global LLC Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Algert Global cut its Alphabet stake by 34.2% in the second quarter, selling 26,003 shares and retaining 50,034 shares valued at approximately $17.9 billion. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 40.03% of the stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: Alphabet has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $420.19, although one analyst recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Alphabet reported quarterly earnings of $9.11 per share and revenue of $119.8 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Algert Global LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,034 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 26,003 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $28,902,000. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 118,966 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,236,000 after buying an additional 17,415 shares during the period. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 66.1% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 22,877 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,161,000 after buying an additional 9,105 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Arete Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. DA Davidson set a $350.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $338.36 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.23 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $348.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud expands enterprise AI push: Alphabet and Accenture are launching a joint unit with 1,000 forward-deployed engineers to help businesses implement Google’s AI tools. The partnership could accelerate Cloud adoption, improve monetization and help Alphabet compete more effectively with Microsoft and Amazon. Google Cloud races to catch up in the AI deployment wars with Accenture deal
• Positive Sentiment: Potential power support for AI infrastructure: The U.S. government approved a $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy to refurbish an Iowa nuclear plant that Google plans to use for power. Reliable, low-carbon electricity could help support Alphabet’s growing data-center demand, although the benefits are longer term. Google's revived nuclear power plant gets $1.9B loan from US government
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Cathay Pacific expanded trials of AI technology designed to reduce aircraft contrail warming, adding a potential sustainability and commercial-use case for Google’s AI capabilities. Cathay Pacific, Google expand AI trials to cut climate-warming aircraft contrails

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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