Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Hosking Partners LLP's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.9%, now holding 528,452 shares valued at approximately $82.56 million, making it the firm's third-largest holding.
• Significant insider sales included CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares for over $6.37 million, representing a 1.29% decrease in his ownership.
• The latest earnings report showed Alphabet beating expectations with $2.31 EPS and revenue of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% year-over-year growth.

Hosking Partners LLP cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,452 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,874 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.5% of Hosking Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Hosking Partners LLP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $82,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock traded up $4.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $202.11. The company had a trading volume of 24,354,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,707,132. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $181.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.52.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet 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 sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company 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.