Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Purchased by Harvard Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Harvard Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.7%, now owning 718,812 shares valued at approximately $111 million, making it the fund's 4th largest position.
• Analyst ratings for Alphabet have generally improved, with price targets raised by firms like Wells Fargo, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Piper Sandler, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $211.53.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, with a record date of September 8th.

Harvard Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 718,812 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 9.9% of Harvard Management Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Harvard Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $111,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $78,839,544,000 after buying an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Alphabet by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,638,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $18,672,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,574,417 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Alphabet by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 274,819 shares of company stock worth $49,796,547 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $203.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,891,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,675,102. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.65 and a 200-day moving average of $173.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 is 8.95%.

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.