Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Has $194.84 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,247,125 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,486 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.7% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $194,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $185.94. The stock had a trading volume of 20,915,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,559,132. The company's 50 day moving average is $173.39 and its 200-day moving average is $174.75. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $2.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.40.

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.