Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.8%, now owning 914,789 shares worth approximately $142.9 million.
• In the first quarter, multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Alphabet, with T. Rowe Price raising its stake by 34.2%.
• Alphabet has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, to be paid on September 15th, marking an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 914,789 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 26,283 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Candriam S.C.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $142,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aspire Growth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.2% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 7,196 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,072 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,635,000 after acquiring an additional 17,334 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% in the first quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.8% in the first quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,271 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $5,962,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $202.49 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $186.19 and a 200-day moving average of $174.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued 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 is presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 242,319 shares of company stock worth $44,243,272 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

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.

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