Plato Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 9.1%, selling 12,781 shares, making the stock its 6th largest holding with a value of approximately $20 million.
• Insider activity includes CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares valued at over $7.4 million, while Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares, indicating a decrease in ownership for both.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, which will be paid on September 15th to shareholders of record.

Plato Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,307 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 12,781 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 79,160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,756 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 5,470 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $239.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $240.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.17. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued 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 is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.44.

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.

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