Tortoise Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Tortoise Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 43.1%, selling 2,648 shares and retaining 3,499 shares, valued at approximately $541,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, made significant modifications to their holdings in Alphabet during the first quarter, showcasing strong interest in the company.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Tortoise Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 43.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,499 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,648 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nia Impact Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $212.91. The company had a trading volume of 39,702,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,138,272. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $214.65.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

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.