Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Covea Finance's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Covea Finance has increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 5.1% in the second quarter, making it the 4th largest position in their portfolio, with holdings valued at approximately $82.31 million.
• Insider transactions indicate notable sale activity, with insiders selling a total of 258,088 shares valued at over $52 million in the last three months, reducing their ownership stakes.
• Recent earnings reports showed Alphabet beating analysts' expectations with a reported $2.31 EPS and revenues of $96.43 billion, surpassing forecasts significantly.

Covea Finance increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 467,060 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,560 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.1% of Covea Finance's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Covea Finance's holdings in Alphabet were worth $82,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Unified Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.2% during the second quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 5,875 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.0% during the second quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 49.1% during the second quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 34,406 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 11,326 shares in the last quarter. Boyd Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 96.9% during the second quarter. Boyd Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. Financial Partners Group Inc now owns 55,167 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,722,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value 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. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

Alphabet stock opened at $246.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $215.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $256.00.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.44.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.