Nuveen LLC Buys New Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment in Alphabet Inc., acquiring approximately 27.8 million shares valued at around $4.32 billion, which now represents 1.3% of their portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Alphabet's future growth, with multiple firms increasing their price targets, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $211.53.
• Alphabet has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 27,799,238 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,317,606,000. Alphabet makes up about 1.3% of Nuveen LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.23% of Alphabet as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 242,319 shares of company stock worth $44,243,272 in the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $2.25 on Wednesday, hitting $199.32. The company had a trading volume of 28,901,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,460,480. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $185.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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 presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Susquehanna boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.