Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Purchased by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 73.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 811,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 344,016 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.4% of Demars Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $126,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,166,070,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,237,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $1,551,533,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Alphabet by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GOOG opened at $177.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.88.

About Alphabet

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.