Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, owning 6,364,297 shares valued at approximately $994 million.
• Alphabet's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.31 EPS and revenues of $96.43 billion, marking a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,364,297 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 134,358 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.05% of Alphabet worth $994,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock traded down $5.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.36. The stock had a trading volume of 9,609,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,576,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $192.27 and its 200 day moving average is $175.60. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $215.34.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $47,225,230. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.