Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 18.2%, selling 4,000 shares for a total of $3.17 million in value.
• Alphabet's latest earnings reported $2.31 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing a yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $250.43 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 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $222.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,258.92. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.76.

Alphabet 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.