Johnson Financial Group LLC Acquires 6,256 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group LLC has significantly increased its position in Alphabet Inc., holding 8,256 shares valued at approximately $1.28 million, representing a 312.8% increase during the first quarter.
• Insider selling occurred as key executives, including CEO Sundar Pichai and insider John Kent Walker, sold shares totaling over $10 million in value, reflecting a drop in their ownership stakes.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the annualized dividend yield standing at 0.4%, signifying a modest return for shareholders.

Johnson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 312.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,256 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Alphabet Trading Down 1.3%

GOOGL traded down $2.5860 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $200.9140. 7,863,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,374,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.80 and a 200 day moving average of $173.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Westpark Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock worth $49,796,547. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.