Longview Partners Guernsey LTD Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Longview Partners Guernsey LTD reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 6.0%, now owning approximately 3.23 million shares worth about $499.48 million, making it the fund's 13th largest position.
• Multiple institutions, including Guardian Wealth Management Inc. and NBZ Investment Advisors LLC, have increased their holdings in Alphabet during the same period, showcasing heightened interest in the company.
• Following recent stock transactions by directors, Insider selling amounted to 254,719 shares worth over $47.22 million in the last ninety days, indicating potential shifts in insider sentiment.

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,229,954 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 205,180 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.0% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's holdings in Alphabet were worth $499,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $212.91. The company had a trading volume of 39,702,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,893,466. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $190.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $214.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total value of $6,497,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares in the company, valued at $492,281,408.64. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded 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. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

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.