Atreides Management LP Sells 254,544 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Atreides Management LP has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 57.4%, selling 254,544 shares and now owning 189,077 shares, valued at approximately $29.24 million.
• Other hedge funds like Dark Forest Capital Management and Chiron Capital Management have increased their stakes in Alphabet significantly, indicating divergent investment strategies among institutional investors.
• Alphabet is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.21 on September 15th, representing a 0.4% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 8.95%.

Atreides Management LP lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 57.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,077 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 254,544 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 0.9% of Atreides Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Atreides Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 51.1% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 152,604 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $23,599,000 after purchasing an additional 51,616 shares during the period. Chiron Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 98.9% during the 1st quarter. Chiron Capital Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 2,904 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045,421 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $161,664,000 after buying an additional 25,020 shares during the last quarter. SHANDA ASSET MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $23,196,000. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 224,862 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $34,773,000 after acquiring an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $212.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.39 and a 200-day moving average of $174.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $214.65.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Company 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.

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