USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 828,528 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 142,714 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of USS Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $129,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $235.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $196.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.82. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $236.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.