Cortland Associates Inc. MO Trims Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cortland Associates Inc. MO reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 293,063 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,256 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 6.8% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $53,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $30,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.5% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $150.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.86 and a 200 day moving average of $164.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 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 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 12.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total transaction of $3,991,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,213,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $392,588,151.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.40, for a total value of $3,991,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,213,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $392,588,151.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 34,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.60, for a total value of $5,570,188.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 312,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,765,346. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,032 shares of company stock worth $29,854,224. Corporate insiders own 11.55% 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.