Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 128,609 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 20.8% during the first quarter, now owning a total of 746,335 shares worth approximately $116.6 million.
• Insider transactions were reported as CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for nearly $5.8 million, and other insiders collectively sold 273,219 shares valued at around $49.5 million in the past three months.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 8, reflecting an annualized payout of $0.84 and a yield of 0.4%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 746,335 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 128,609 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $116,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,299,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Alphabet by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,455,571,000 after acquiring an additional 294,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after acquiring an additional 769,335 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.4%

GOOG traded up $4.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $202.11. The company had a trading volume of 24,354,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,707,132. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The business's fifty day moving average price is $181.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.52. The company has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.