Groupe la Francaise Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 37.1%, now holding 548,282 shares, valued at approximately $88.3 million.
• A total of 254,719 shares of Alphabet stock have been sold by insiders in the past ninety days, indicating significant insider trading activity.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Groupe la Francaise reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 548,282 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 323,220 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.9% of Groupe la Francaise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Nia Impact Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $208.49 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $187.44 and a 200 day moving average of $173.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $210.52.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" 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 assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.

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