B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $40.98 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, now owning shares worth $40.98 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Alphabet, with JPMorgan Chase increasing their target from $200 to $232 and classifying the stock as "overweight."
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,332 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,752 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $4.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $212.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,901,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,998,132. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.38. 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 twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $212.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

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.