Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its Alphabet stake by 4.0%, selling 5,160 shares and now owning 125,091 shares valued at about $39.25 million, making GOOG its 15th-largest holding.
• Alphabet beat Q1 estimates with $5.11 EPS (vs. $2.68) and $109.9B revenue (+21.8% YoY), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share (0.2% yield).
• There is notable trading and analyst activity: insiders sold 158,553 shares (~$47.95M) over the last three months while firms like JPMorgan raised targets (JPMorgan to $460), reflecting mixed selling and bullish analyst sentiment.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,091 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,160 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.0% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock opened at $395.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.59. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.83 and a 52 week high of $397.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.73.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 momentum and Anthropic cloud deal continue to underpin the rally — social and analyst chatter notes a post-earnings surge, AI-fueled ad strength and a reported ~$200B Anthropic commitment that materially boosts Alphabet’s cloud backlog and revenue visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Mizuho and other firms have raised forecasts and targets (examples around $460+), supporting upside expectations and helping push the stock higher. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying reported — a handful of funds disclosed fresh additions (Swiss National Bank, Allen Investment, Fisher Asset among others), signaling conviction from large holders. Read More. • Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New consumer products and subscription moves could expand monetization but are early-stage — Google launched the Fitbit Air wearable and an AI health-coach subscription, which add recurring-revenue potential but are not yet material to near-term results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulatory risk remains — Alphabet has proposed changes to news search to head off additional multibillion-euro fines, highlighting ongoing antitrust exposure that could pressure European revenue or require product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider and some institutional selling — data show heavy insider sales in recent months and several large funds (Deutsche Bank, CalPERS, Madison) trimmed GOOG positions, which can cap short-term upside and increase volatility. Read More. • Read More.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. The trade was a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.