Axiom Investors LLC DE Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 62.8% during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 1.27 million shares, valued at $196.35 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Alphabet during the same period, with Guardian Wealth Management boosting its holdings by 242.9%.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for Alphabet, with an average price target of $222.33, reflecting strong confidence in the company's future performance.

Axiom Investors LLC DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 62.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,269,707 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,139,862 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.8% of Axiom Investors LLC DE's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE's holdings in Alphabet were worth $196,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.33.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $235.00 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $235.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,281,408.64. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

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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