Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Lessened by Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 3.5%, selling 2,038 shares, which now represents 1.8% of its portfolio valued at approximately $8.6 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, increased their stakes in Alphabet, with Vanguard owning over 509 million shares valued at nearly $79 billion.
• Alphabet's stock recently opened at $208.49 and reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a quarterly dividend of $0.21 scheduled for payment in September.

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,864 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,038 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.8% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $4.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $211.64. The company had a trading volume of 32,311,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,175,680. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $212.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 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 presently 8.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus 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.