Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,710 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.4% of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $787,000. New Hampshire Trust boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP raised its holdings in Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 1,951,860 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $272,655,000 after buying an additional 200,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7 %

Alphabet stock opened at $166.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.35.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,280,514.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,280,514.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,590,960. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 193,725 shares of company stock valued at $31,933,031. Corporate insiders own 11.55% 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.