Crake Asset Management LLP Sells 341,472 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Crake Asset Management LLP has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 45.6%, now owning 407,528 shares valued at approximately $63.67 million, representing about 5.1% of their investment portfolio.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings per share of $2.31 for its last quarter, surpassing expectations, with total revenue reaching $96.43 billion—an increase of 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, scheduled for payment on September 15th, which yields an annualized return of 0.4%.

Crake Asset Management LLP cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 45.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407,528 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 341,472 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 5.1% of Crake Asset Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Crake Asset Management LLP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $63,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st 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 acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.17. The company had a trading volume of 26,091,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,868,892. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $236.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $196.65 and its 200 day moving average is $176.82.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

About Alphabet

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.