JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 9,243,959 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 9.9%, acquiring 9,243,959 shares during the first quarter, making it the bank's 8th largest holding.
• Alphabet reported a net margin of 31.12% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.8%, with earnings of $2.31 EPS exceeding analysts’ expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, scheduled to be paid on September 15th.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,243,959 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.84% of Alphabet worth $15,971,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $96,465,000 after acquiring an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Family Office Research LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Eley Financial Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 24,591 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,683,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.4%

GOOG opened at $202.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.90 and a 200-day moving average of $174.70. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 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 Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% 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 this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Pivotal Research increased their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

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.

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.