Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired approximately 16.8 million shares of Alphabet Inc., valued at about $2.62 billion, making it the firm’s 18th largest position.
• Alphabet Inc. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.31, surpassing expectations, and a revenue of $96.43 billion, showing a 13.8% year-over-year increase.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,793,827 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,622,943,000. Alphabet comprises 0.8% of Nuveen LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.14% of Alphabet as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,674,273. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $2.53 on Tuesday, reaching $204.16. The company had a trading volume of 19,850,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,088,352. The stock's 50 day moving average is $182.53 and its 200-day moving average is $174.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. 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 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 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.