Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Baupost Group LLC MA’s 6th Largest Position

Baupost Group LLC MA lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 63.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,069,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,888,064 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.4% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $196,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $37,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $164.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.79. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.46 and a 52-week high of $193.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.86.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $3,614,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’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 owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.99, for a total value of $600,175.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,655.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,667 shares of company stock worth $33,964,256. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.