MKP Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $169.98 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 930,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $169,984,000. Alphabet accounts for about 10.3% of MKP Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,441,917,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,374,756 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of 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. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at $339,713,977.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

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.