Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $203.43 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,315,520 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 81,755 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $203,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,025,322,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16,993.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,483,898,000 after buying an additional 15,968,487 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after buying an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Alphabet by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,635,878,000 after buying an additional 10,037,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of GOOGL traded up $2.10 on Monday, reaching $176.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 27,312,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,428,122. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. 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 $162.89 and a 200-day moving average of $174.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. Bank of America boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $5,483,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,587,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,570,192.16. This trade represents a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet 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.