Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Raised by City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.

City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 199,835 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,420 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.1% of City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Alphabet by 98.5% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 475,925 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,690,000 after buying an additional 236,214 shares during the last quarter. Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $210,000. One Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 56.7% in the second quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 38,969 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,098,000 after buying an additional 14,105 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,417,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Planning Services Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 500.1% in the second quarter. American Planning Services Inc. now owns 16,587 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,021,000 after buying an additional 13,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total transaction of $4,113,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,141,173.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,204,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total transaction of $278,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 193,725 shares of company stock valued at $31,933,031 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $165.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $162.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $191.75.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.27%.

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.