Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,264 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,604 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.1% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimension Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC now owns 13,968 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 4,485 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Challenger Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Challenger Wealth Management now owns 1,335 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. REDW Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the second quarter. REDW Wealth LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the second quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,325 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

GOOG stock opened at $310.52 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $328.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $283.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 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, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.04.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.00, for a total value of $302,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,721,580. The trade was a 7.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total transaction of $168,036.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,264,750.96. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 225,528 shares of company stock valued at $61,296,884 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.