Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.8%, now holding 5,289,300 shares worth approximately $817.9 million, making it the firm's 8th largest holding.
• In the first quarter, several large investors increased their stakes in Alphabet, with Falcon Wealth Planning showing the most significant increase of 15.7% in shares held.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with an ex-dividend date set for September 8th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,289,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 153,700 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $817,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position 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 during the period. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Falcon Wealth Planning increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 9,898 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $212.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $214.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $191.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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 research note on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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