Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.4%, holding 4,611,896 shares valued at approximately $713 million, making it the third-largest holding in their portfolio.
• Multiple brokerages have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with the average target now at $211.53 following varying ratings including "overweight" and "buy" from firms like Piper Sandler and Barclays.
• Alphabet announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 15th, reflecting a yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,611,896 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 63,966 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.6% of Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $713,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after acquiring an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,749,806,000 after acquiring an additional 593,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,153,481,000 after acquiring an additional 727,335 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $6.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,770,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,218,810. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $186.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current 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 $208.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Bank of America upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 over the last quarter. 11.64% 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.