Mechanics Bank Trust Department Has $20.60 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Mechanics Bank Trust Department reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 8.7%, holding $20.60 million in stock, which makes up 3.0% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet recently posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting $2.31 EPS and $96.43 billion in revenue, surpassing analyst estimates.
• Analysts have optimistic outlooks for Alphabet, with upgrades from UBS and JPMorgan raising target prices significantly, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,890 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,077 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 3.0% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,317,606,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 16,993.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,062,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,483,898,000 after acquiring an additional 15,968,487 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 307.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,302,644 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,593,201,000 after acquiring an additional 7,774,811 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,783,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,473,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.31.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $247.14 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $256.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.46 and a 200-day moving average of $181.91.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 in the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.