Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Marathon Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 519,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 44,070 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.5% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $80,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total transaction of $5,553,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,620,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,712,890.52. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $179.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.95.

About Alphabet

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.