First Financial Bankshares Inc Acquires 1,202 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 13.0%, acquiring 1,202 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 10,453 shares valued at $1,633,000.
• Recent insider trading reports revealed that Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares for $200,000, while CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for nearly $5.8 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Alphabet, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price target from $200 to $232, indicating strong growth expectations for the company.

First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,453 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,971,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243,959 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,494,655,000 after purchasing an additional 769,335 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,827,999 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,870,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,334,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,210 shares of company stock valued at $41,742,155 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $232.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,054,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,975,922. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.23. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $232.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

About Alphabet

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.