Vanderbilt University Lowers Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Vanderbilt University has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 14.5%, owning 44,777 shares after selling 7,592 during the second quarter, which now represents about 1.5% of their total holdings.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their positions in Alphabet, with Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raising theirs by 242.9% in the first quarter.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.4%, with an ex-dividend date of September 8th.

Vanderbilt University lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,777 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,592 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.5% of Vanderbilt University's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Vanderbilt University's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.1%

GOOGL stock opened at $236.57 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $256.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.49.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.

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