Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.1%, holding 1,429,025 shares valued at approximately $223.3 million after selling 46,300 shares.
• Alphabet reported $2.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.12, with a revenue of $96.43 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%, with the dividend set to be paid on September 15th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,429,025 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 46,300 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.2% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $223,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 27,356 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18.8% during the first quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC now owns 103,840 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $16,223,000 after buying an additional 16,469 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 51.9% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 26.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,122,313 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $175,339,000 after buying an additional 237,648 shares during the period. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the first quarter. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $206.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $209.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.

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