Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 0.5%, now owning 510,512 shares, with a total value of $78.9 million, making it the 21st largest holding in their portfolio.
• Vanguard Group Inc. significantly increased its ownership in Alphabet by 2.9%, owning over 509 million shares valued at nearly $78.8 billion, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Alphabet announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend, which will be paid on September 15, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and reflecting a modest payout ratio of 8.95%.

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 510,512 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,392 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of Townsquare Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $78,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $203.90 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $184.25 and its 200 day moving average is $173.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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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