Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,707,063 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 173,114 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.9% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.12% of Alphabet worth $4,217,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $341.91 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $363.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $6.23. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.06 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $383.44.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.