Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys 10,165 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.6% during the first quarter, owning a total of 629,150 shares valued at approximately $98.3 million.
• Alphabet's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.31, surpassing estimates, with quarterly revenue reaching $96.43 billion, a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 0.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 629,150 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,165 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $98,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kazazian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Kazazian Asset Management LLC now owns 107,392 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $16,778,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 233.9% in the 1st quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. now owns 174,160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,932,000 after acquiring an additional 122,000 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 30,278 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,730,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ GOOG traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,211,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $179.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.53.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.