Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.8% during Q1, acquiring an additional 26,741 shares, bringing its total to 3,270,283 shares valued at approximately $510.9 million.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.31, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.12, with revenue reaching $96.43 billion for the quarter, a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company's upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.21 is set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annual yield of 0.43% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,270,283 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,741 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of Natixis Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $510,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,298 shares of company stock valued at $43,505,967 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $1.01 on Wednesday, reaching $197.44. 21,048,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,257,904. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.54 and a 200-day moving average of $174.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently 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.