Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Boosted by Ashford Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management increased its Alphabet stake by 75.8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,006 shares valued at approximately $5.75 million. Institutional investors own about 40% of GOOGL.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $419.86. Alphabet also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $9.11 in adjusted EPS and $119.8 billion in revenue.
• Despite strong fundamentals, Alphabet faces pressure from a 4% stock decline, recent insider selling, delayed Gemini product momentum, senior AI departures and a U.K. advertiser class-action lawsuit estimated at $6.7 billion.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 75.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,006 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,625 shares during the period. Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $350.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $419.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $362.43 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.67 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $356.85 and its 200-day moving average is $340.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.42%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is reportedly discussing a potential deal valued at more than $1.5 billion with AI coding-agent startup Mechanize. The arrangement could provide access to specialized talent and technology in a rapidly expanding AI application market. Google is in talks for a $1.5 billion-plus deal with AI coding agent startup Mechanize
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from strong fundamentals and AI-related growth opportunities, including its cloud business, advertising franchise and direct sales of custom Tensor Processing Units. Analysts remain broadly optimistic about the stock’s long-term growth prospects. Is Alphabet a Solid Growth Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-owned Waymo opened its Dallas robotaxi service to all residents and visitors, supporting the company’s effort to scale autonomous-driving operations. Waymo opens up robotaxi service in Dallas to everyone
• Neutral Sentiment: Demis Hassabis is moving from leading Google DeepMind into an Alphabet chief scientist role focused on long-term research and AI safety. Management described the move as a leadership realignment, but investors are weighing whether it could disrupt near-term product execution. Google shakes up AI leadership as DeepMind chief shifts role
• Negative Sentiment: Longtime chief scientist Jeff Dean and three other senior AI researchers are leaving Google to launch Discovery Loop, an AI startup focused on automated research and drug design. The departures intensify concerns over the loss of influential technical talent during the AI race. Google chief scientist Jeff Dean leaving in AI reshuffle
• Negative Sentiment: The leadership overhaul comes while Google’s latest flagship Gemini release remains delayed, increasing investor anxiety about product momentum and competitive positioning. Why is Alphabet stock falling?
• Negative Sentiment: A U.K. tribunal allowed a roughly $6.7 billion advertiser class action to proceed, adding to Alphabet’s regulatory and legal exposure in its search and advertising businesses. UK Tribunal Rejects Google Bid to Block Advertiser Class Action

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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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.

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