Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Boosted by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 11.4%, making the stock its 4th largest holding, with a total of 43,865,520 shares valued at approximately $6.78 billion.
• Alphabet posted quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share, surpassing estimates, and generated revenue of $96.43 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which will be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,473,901 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.7% of UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.36% of Alphabet worth $6,783,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $201.57 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $185.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was 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 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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