Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Bailard Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 476,519 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 51,705 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.4% of Bailard Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $86,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 57,803,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,724,251,000 after buying an additional 7,275,757 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,980,354,000 after buying an additional 6,374,756 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Alphabet by 39,754.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 6,025,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $841,725,000 after acquiring an additional 6,010,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 143.7% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,072,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,288,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total transaction of $3,991,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,213,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $392,588,151.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,807.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,065 shares of company stock worth $22,841,690 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $157.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.59 and a 200-day moving average of $164.17. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.17.

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.