Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Trimmed by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,617 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,466 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.7% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $787,000. New Hampshire Trust grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,803 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,046,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.08.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $161.85 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one 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 (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 company had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given 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 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 2,114,885 shares in the company, valued at $339,713,977.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 180,167 shares of company stock valued at $29,762,606. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.