Blueshift Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 47.4%, now owning 6,362 shares valued at $994,000 according to SEC filings.
• CEO Sundar Pichai and Director Kavitark Ram Shriram recently sold shares of Alphabet, with Pichai selling 32,500 shares for about $5.8 million and Shriram selling 18,566 shares worth approximately $3.4 million.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, scheduled for payment on September 15, with a yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 47.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,362 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,991,725 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,470,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,189,592 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,455,571,000 after purchasing an additional 294,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after buying an additional 769,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of GOOG stock traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.95. 21,211,425 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The company has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $179.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.69. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

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.