Graphene Investments SAS Purchases 4,400 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Graphene Investments SAS lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,900 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.9% of Graphene Investments SAS's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $179.08. The stock had a trading volume of 21,689,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,547,766. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GOOGL. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.