AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Purchases Shares of 215,138 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has made a new investment in Alphabet Inc., acquiring 215,138 shares valued at approximately $36.95 million, making it the fund's 6th largest holding.
• Insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares valued at over $4.6 million, representing a significant decrease of 35.65% in his position.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 215,138 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,948,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.1% of AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs' investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Westpark Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $240.80. The company had a trading volume of 26,758,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,407,372. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $242.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last three months. 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.