Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 28,940 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491,581 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 28,940 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $76,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first 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 during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $196.52. 26,014,319 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,764,620. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.13. 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 twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 8.95%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 over the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital increased their price objective on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.