Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Reduced by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 8.6%, now holding 1,201,855 shares worth approximately $211.8 million.
• Alphabet stock is currently priced at $236.57, having a market cap of $2.86 trillion and a 52-week price range between $140.53 and $256.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing a 0.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,201,855 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 113,665 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.0% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $211,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after buying an additional 14,307,345 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,783,364,000 after buying an additional 4,473,901 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,034,992,000 after buying an additional 3,537,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 178.3% in the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 4,003,900 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $619,163,000 after buying an additional 2,565,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1%

Alphabet stock opened at $236.57 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.66.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 953 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $229,863.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,171,312.80. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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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