Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $59.14 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 16.1%, now holding 378,524 shares worth approximately $59 million, which constitutes about 1.3% of its total portfolio.
• Despite Mizuho's reduction, other institutions like GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc. significantly increased their holdings in Alphabet during the first quarter, indicating varying investor sentiment.
• Alphabet reported a strong earnings performance with earnings per share at $2.31, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting a 0.4% yield.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,524 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 72,544 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.3% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $59,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $4.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $202.11. 24,354,150 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,707,132. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $181.90 and its 200 day moving average is $174.52. 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 one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $96.43 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.