First Financial Bankshares Inc Buys 191,530 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its position in Alphabet Inc. by 46.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 600,659 shares valued at approximately $92.89 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Alphabet stock, with Bank of America setting a price objective of $217.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Alphabet recently reported earnings that surpassed expectations, with $2.31 EPS and revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, indicating strong financial performance.

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 46.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 600,659 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 191,530 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.0% of First Financial Bankshares Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $92,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Enzi Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the first quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the first quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $233.93. The company had a trading volume of 24,962,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,682,375. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $235.76. 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 company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $194.66 and its 200 day moving average is $175.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 222,210 shares of company stock valued at $41,742,155 over the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Barclays lifted their price target on Alphabet from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.33.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.