Balentine LLC Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Balentine LLC increased its Alphabet Inc. holdings by 180.5%, acquiring an additional 3,191 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to $767,000.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized payout of $0.84, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.43%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.81 last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.02, even as its revenue of $76.49 billion fell short of the $89.30 billion estimate.

Balentine LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 180.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,959 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,873,000 after buying an additional 13,564 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $193.18. 39,738,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,427,228. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $175.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were 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 directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.