Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Purchased by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.9%, now owning approximately $227.28 million in shares, making it the 13th largest holding in its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31 for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and revealed a quarterly dividend of $0.21 to be paid on September 15th.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Alphabet, with hedge funds owning 40.03% of the company's stock, reflecting growing confidence in the tech giant's performance.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,469,759 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,092 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $227,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.32. 28,901,311 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,460,480. 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 capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $185.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 242,319 shares of company stock valued at $44,243,272 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Rosenblatt Securities upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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.