Meritage Portfolio Management Has $63.08 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,914 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 22,428 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.0% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $63,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $78,839,544,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,783,364,000 after buying an additional 4,473,901 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,749,806,000 after buying an additional 593,345 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,153,481,000 after buying an additional 727,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,556,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,962,389,000 after buying an additional 104,859 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $251.69 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $257.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $234.60 and its 200-day moving average is $193.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $294.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.12.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total value of $25,042.39. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,258.92. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Insiders own 11.64% 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.