ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Acquires 1,749 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its ownership in Alphabet Inc. by 0.4%, acquiring an additional 1,749 shares, bringing its total to 425,114 shares, valued at approximately $74.9 million.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating strong revenue growth of $96.43 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.3% while maintaining a low payout ratio of 8.95%.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425,114 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 3.2% of ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $74,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,267,743 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,742,444,000 after buying an additional 86,670 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 206,512 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,935,000 after buying an additional 29,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 6,297 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

GOOGL opened at $243.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $218.05 and a 200-day moving average of $184.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Melius Research raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.63.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total transaction of $25,042.39. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 225,469 shares of company stock valued at $46,586,752 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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