Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Raised by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.6% in Q1, now holding 596,057 shares valued at approximately $93.1 million, making it the 15th largest holding in its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 per share in its latest quarterly results, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $96.43 billion, a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 to be paid on September 15th, which corresponds to an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,057 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,357 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.5% of Prudential PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Prudential PLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $93,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after buying an additional 9,687,855 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,971,861,000 after buying an additional 9,243,959 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 294,556 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 274,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,674,273 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $201.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.34. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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