Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter, holding 895,042 shares valued at approximately $138 million.
• Alphabet has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with a payment date set for September 15th, yielding an annualized rate of 0.4%.
• Analyst ratings for Alphabet are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $211.39.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 895,042 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,350 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.9% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $138,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $42,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL traded up $5.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $195.04. 31,493,654 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,132,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $178.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.82. 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 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.