USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 14.8%, now owning 925,393 shares valued at approximately $143 million.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly EPS of $2.31, exceeding estimates, with revenues reaching $96.43 billion.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield for shareholders of record as of September 8th.

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 925,393 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 160,708 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $143,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their target price 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.4%

Alphabet stock traded up $5.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $239.63. The stock had a trading volume of 37,672,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,792,551. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $240.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.95 and a 200 day moving average of $175.73.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 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.