Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Ranmore Fund Management Ltd's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ranmore Fund Management Ltd significantly increased its investment in Alphabet Inc. by 395.0% during the first quarter, now holding 99,000 shares valued at over $15 million.
• Alphabet's shares recently traded down 0.9%, closing at $201.57, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.44 trillion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an expected payout on September 15th, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Ranmore Fund Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 395.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 79,000 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 9.2% of Ranmore Fund Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ranmore Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 222,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,725,772 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

GOOGL stock traded up $0.5420 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $199.8620. 10,988,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,272,508. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $185.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. 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 cap of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.