Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P. has acquired 175,000 shares of Alphabet Inc., valued at approximately $27 million, making it the second largest position in its portfolio.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, marking a 0.4% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other brokerages have raised their target prices for Alphabet, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $200 to $232 and giving it an "overweight" rating.

Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 175,000 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,062,000. Alphabet comprises about 18.1% of Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,490,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Alphabet by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Alphabet by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $207.14 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $210.52. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Westpark Capital upped their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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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