Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 32.3%, selling 115,843 shares and now holds 242,259 shares worth approximately $37.5 million.
• Alphabet's stock price has been adjusted by multiple analysts, with targets rising from $185.00 to $225.00, indicating a growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,259 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 115,843 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.8% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $37,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 9.8% in the 4th 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $24,383,677,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $18,672,198,000 after buying an additional 7,574,417 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 valued at $13,635,878,000 after buying an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 17.0% during 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. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $5.91 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $195.04. The stock had a trading volume of 31,493,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,132,445. The company has a 50-day moving average of $178.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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