Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Boston Partners' 9th Largest Position

Boston Partners lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,490,867 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 406,565 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of Boston Partners' holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Boston Partners owned about 0.05% of Alphabet worth $1,002,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $201.57 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $185.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.20. 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 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

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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