Raiffeisen Bank International AG Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 10.0% during the first quarter, making the stock its 4th largest position, now holding nearly 1.7 million shares valued at approximately $261.5 million.
• Alphabet reported an EPS of $2.31 for the recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.15, along with revenues of $96.43 billion compared to expectations of $93.6 billion.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with a 0.4% yield and a payout ratio of 8.95%, to be issued on September 15 to shareholders of record on September 8.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,692,977 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 154,010 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.2% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Alphabet were worth $261,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nia Impact Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the first quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $201.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.80.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 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. 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 several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet 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.

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