Vulcan Value Partners LLC Sells 75,618 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.9%, selling 75,618 shares, but still holds 1,861,409 shares valued at approximately $290.9 million, making it the 8th largest position in their portfolio.
• Alphabet's latest quarterly earnings showed an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.31, exceeding expectations, and revenue growth of 13.8% year-over-year, totaling $96.43 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payment date set for September 15th, which reflects a 0.4% yield based on the current share price.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,861,409 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 75,618 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 5.5% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $290,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

Alphabet stock traded down $2.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.95. The company had a trading volume of 21,211,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. 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 50 day moving average price is $179.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

About Alphabet

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.