Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 19.8% in Q1, now owning 143,282 shares, valued at approximately $22.2 million.
• Recent insider trades included sales of over 25,000 shares by directors, marking significant decreases in their holdings, with insiders having sold shares worth around $49.2 million in the last three months.
• Alphabet has an average price target of $222.33 from analysts, with multiple upgrades and a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,282 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,638 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.0% of Ascent Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,020 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.33.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $235.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.35. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $235.76.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

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.

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