Ardent Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,359 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,347 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 6.9% of Ardent Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Ardent Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $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% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $96,465,000 after purchasing an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 779,014 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $148,357,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,434,764 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $273,256,000 after buying an additional 7,296 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.
Read Our Latest Report on GOOG
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Price Performance
Shares of GOOG stock opened at $197.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.68.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.
Alphabet Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.
While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
