Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,842 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after buying an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 412,680 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $78,591,000 after purchasing an additional 26,890 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 2,040,236 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $388,543,000 after acquiring an additional 43,468 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.
Read Our Latest Analysis on GOOG
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of GOOG stock opened at $204.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.21 and a 200-day moving average of $174.87. The company has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Alphabet
(
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.
Further Reading
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
Learn the basics of options trading and how to use them to boost returns and manage risk with this free report from MarketBeat. Click the link below to get your free copy.
Get This Free Report