Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Has $9.31 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,567 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,235 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $203.82 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.