Kazazian Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Kazazian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 30.3%, acquiring an additional 25,000 shares, which now makes up approximately 13.6% of their portfolio.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $96.43 billion, reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a **quarterly dividend** of $0.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 8.95%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Kazazian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 30.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,392 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 13.6% of Kazazian Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Kazazian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,237,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,573 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,873,751,000 after buying an additional 7,917,625 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,758,244 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,380,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $786,942,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $189.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,211,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.53. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - 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 $2.12 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 the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.