Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,656,205 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 205,312 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.6% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $606,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 70.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,279,000 after purchasing an additional 41,880 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $382,000. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 209.8% during the 1st quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 37,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,735,000 after buying an additional 25,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total value of $3,570,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,137,385 shares in the company, valued at $339,160,251.80. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.9 %

GOOGL opened at $169.12 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Alphabet 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.