Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Cut by Y.D. More Investments Ltd

Key Points

• Y.D. More Investments Ltd reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 8.4% during the first quarter, now holding 44,486 shares valued at approximately $6.95 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., significantly increased their positions in Alphabet, with GAMMA Investing's stake rising by 18,562.3%.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 8.95%, and reported earnings of $2.31 per share, beating estimates by $0.19.

Y.D. More Investments Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,486 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,097 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.6% of Y.D. More Investments Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Y.D. More Investments Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $4.55 on Friday, hitting $201.83. 5,389,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,026,020. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.68. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.