Veritas Asset Management LLP Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Veritas Asset Management LLP cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,300,950 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 177,302 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 11.4% of Veritas Asset Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.08% of Alphabet worth $1,542,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 70.6% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 41,880 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 12.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 187,840 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,351,000 after purchasing an additional 20,572 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 146.4% in the first quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 8,920 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 513,406 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $77,488,000 after purchasing an additional 11,837 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total value of $3,772,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,159,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. This represents a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Loop Capital increased their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $3.09 on Friday, reaching $172.49. The company had a trading volume of 32,504,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,756,214. 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 1 year low of $127.90 and a 1 year high of $191.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.61 and a 200-day moving average of $170.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

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.