First Community Trust NA Buys 438 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.7% of First Community Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.4% in the first quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 254,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,450,000 after acquiring an additional 17,602 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Shapiro LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Shapiro LLC now owns 2,032 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 26,519 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,003,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 26.9% during the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $179.63 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.35 and a 12-month high of $180.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $170.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.41.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 12,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.19, for a total transaction of $1,826,979.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 48,717 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,523.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 12,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.19, for a total value of $1,826,979.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 48,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,365,523.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,958 shares of company stock valued at $22,383,553. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.26.

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.