JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.52% of Alphabet worth $10,559,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.7% in the third quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the third quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the third quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3 %

Alphabet stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $195.60. The stock had a trading volume of 11,820,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,573,871. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at $4,927,257.72. This represents a 4.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 178,257 shares of company stock valued at $31,243,187. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.69.

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.