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

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 11.2%, selling 407,177 shares, leaving it with 3,238,408 shares valued at approximately $505.9 million.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Alphabet shares, with Pivotal Research increasing its target from $245 to $300 and Oppenheimer raising its price objective to $270.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15, reflecting an annual yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,238,408 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 407,177 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.6% of Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $505,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company'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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,281,408.64. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $240.78 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $242.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.39.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.

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