Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Increased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 37.4%, acquiring an additional 108,863 shares, bringing its total holdings to 400,098 shares valued at approximately $61.87 million.
• Analysts have shown optimism regarding Alphabet, with Citi and JMP Securities both raising their price targets to $225 and rating the stock as a "buy," contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8th.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 37.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,098 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,863 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $61,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $6.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,770,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,218,810. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $208.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $186.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. Company insiders own 11.64% 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.