Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Has $54.39 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its investment in Alphabet Inc. by 12%, selling 47,687 shares, and now holds approximately $54.39 million in Alphabet, making it the firm's fourth largest holding.
• Multiple analysts have recently issued mixed ratings on Alphabet, with Rosenblatt Securities upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" while others like Citigroup maintained a "sell" rating, reflecting diverse investor sentiments.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the upcoming payment date on September 15th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,109 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 47,687 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.2% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $54,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $202.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50-day moving average price is $181.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.35. 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 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

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.

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