Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Decreased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 19.9%, selling 172,701 shares to hold 696,358 shares, which are now valued at approximately $108.67 million.
• Various analysts have upgraded their ratings for Alphabet, with targets ranging from $171.00 to $245.00, suggesting a generally favorable outlook for the stock.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings of $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and demonstrating a 13.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 696,358 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 172,701 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $108,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after acquiring an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its stake in Alphabet by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,874,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $195.45. 12,807,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,204,488. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.37 and a 200 day moving average of $174.38.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.