Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Sells 174,660 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 48.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,953 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 174,660 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.2% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network lifted its position in Alphabet by 5.3% in the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $213,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 115.7% in the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 214,392 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,031,000 after buying an additional 115,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,626,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $643,381,000 after buying an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $246.45 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $256.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $221.89 and its 200 day moving average is $187.15. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.33.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $229,863.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,171,312.80. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,258.92. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.