Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.21

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.21 per share by the information services provider on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th.

Alphabet has a dividend payout ratio of 8.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Alphabet to earn $10.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.2%.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $331.33. 51,306,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,086,047. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.04 and its 200 day moving average is $269.49.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,037,964 shares of company stock valued at $95,259,727 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 42,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,494,000 after purchasing an additional 6,360 shares during the period. Sutton Place Investors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Alphabet by 35.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 53,050 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,411,000 after purchasing an additional 13,811 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

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.