Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 30,143 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Metis Global Partners LLC has increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 9.5%, acquiring 30,143 shares to total 347,543 shares, making Alphabet the fund's 8th largest investment.
• Director Kavitark Ram Shriram and CEO Sundar Pichai both sold shares recently, reducing their stakes by 7.09% and 1.25%, respectively, amidst significant insider selling totaling over $43 million in the past 90 days.
• Alphabet's recent financial performance shows a 13.8% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing expectations, as the company prepares to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share.

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 347,543 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,143 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.5% of Metis Global Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $54,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Kidder Stephen W increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 3,608 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,605,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $194.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Alphabet 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.

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