Arlington Trust Co LLC Acquires 2,153 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,831 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of Arlington Trust Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Arlington Trust Co LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $2.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.62. The company had a trading volume of 42,988,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,724,461. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.67.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total value of $5,553,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,620,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $447,712,890.52. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.