Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Lifted by Manchester Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, holding a total of 55,026 shares valued at approximately $8.6 million.
• Alphabet reported earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.12, with revenue of $96.43 billion leading to a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 8, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,026 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.1% of Manchester Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Manchester Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,991,725 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,470,344,000 after buying an additional 3,189,592 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in 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 buying an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after buying an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,455,571,000 after buying an additional 294,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after buying an additional 769,335 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $5.80 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $195.75. 23,350,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,139,204. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average price is $179.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.39. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS 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 company 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 earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.