Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 7.0%, selling 1,728 shares to end with a total of 23,080 shares worth approximately $3.57 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their holdings in Alphabet, with Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raising theirs by 242.9%, reflecting growing institutional interest in the tech giant.
• Alphabet recently reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.31, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,080 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,728 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.5% of Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $208.49. 29,895,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,370,868. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $210.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $187.44 and its 200-day moving average is $173.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

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.