Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.1%, selling 2,303 shares, now holding a total of 107,883 shares worth approximately $16.85 million.
• Alphabet reported a $2.31 EPS, exceeding estimates, and generated $96.43 billion in revenue in its latest quarterly report, reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 8, translating to an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,883 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,303 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Alphabet by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after purchasing an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,455 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 23,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies increased its position in Alphabet by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 20,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,986,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of GOOG traded up $5.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $239.94. The stock had a trading volume of 22,727,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,278,212. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $240.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 (DPR) is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.