Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Sells 8,025 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,468,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,025 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $267,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Collaborative Wealth Managment Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,343,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $187,673,000 after acquiring an additional 30,212 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 14,092 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,479 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,527,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 812,598 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $113,512,000 after purchasing an additional 66,859 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,213,011 shares in the company, valued at $392,588,151.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 179,367 shares of company stock worth $30,016,931. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $157.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $206.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.76.

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.