Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 73.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 811,927 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 344,016 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.4% of Demars Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Demars Financial Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $126,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total value of $5,483,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,587,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $436,570,192.16. This represents a 1.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Alphabet Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $177.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.88.
View Our Latest Stock Report on GOOG
Alphabet Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - 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.
Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.
While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Almost everyone loves strong dividend-paying stocks, but high yields can signal danger. Discover 20 high-yield dividend stocks paying an unsustainably large percentage of their earnings. Enter your email to get this report and avoid a high-yield dividend trap.
Get This Free Report