Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Lessened by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.4%, now owning approximately 2,500,202 shares, valued at around $440.6 million.
• Insider trading activity involved Director Kavitark Ram Shriram selling 18,566 shares for about $3.45 million, which represented a 7.09% decrease in his holdings.
• Alphabet recently announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend, yielding 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%, indicating a return to dividend payments for its shareholders.

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,500,202 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 62,327 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.4% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $440,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,783,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473,901 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,749,806,000 after purchasing an additional 593,345 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,153,481,000 after purchasing an additional 727,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,556,577 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,962,389,000 after purchasing an additional 104,859 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.72. 55,452,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,316,584. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Three equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company'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 directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 in the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.