Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services cut its Alphabet stake by 28.9% in the second quarter, selling 19,108 shares and retaining 46,969 shares valued at approximately $16.8 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $9.11 versus the $2.89 consensus and revenue of $119.8 billion. Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” rating with an average price target of $422.16.
• Alphabet’s outlook is supported by AI-chip sales, growing AI and Cloud demand, and Waymo’s planned Singapore expansion, while higher rates, heavy AI infrastructure spending, and ad-tech restrictions remain key risks.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,969 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 19,108 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,394,474 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,208,470,000 after buying an additional 208,362 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 38,106,033 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,927,189,000 after acquiring an additional 583,078 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 29,166,806 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,129,210,000 after acquiring an additional 478,848 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 12.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 31,745,979 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,128,850,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574,810 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,724,321 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,334,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631,721 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $349.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $345.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $344.91. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $235.84 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $422.16.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI chip sales add a new revenue stream: Alphabet began recognizing revenue from sales of its internally developed AI chip systems in the second quarter. Investors may view the business as both a potential growth driver and a way to monetize Google’s technology infrastructure. 2 Stocks to Buy as Google Starts Selling Its AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises price target: Tigress Financial Partners increased its price target for GOOGL to $485, reflecting confidence in Alphabet’s Search, Cloud, YouTube, Gemini and custom-chip opportunities. Alphabet Price Target Raised to $485
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expands internationally: Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit plans to launch an all-electric robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, strengthening the long-term investment case for Alphabet’s “Other Bets” portfolio. Waymo to Bring Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: Investors purchased roughly 520,000 Alphabet call options, above typical volume, indicating increased speculative interest in further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ad-tech ruling avoids a breakup but imposes restrictions: A federal judge ordered Google to share more auction data with publishers and appoint an antitrust monitor, but rejected a forced breakup. Avoiding structural separation limits the immediate risk to Alphabet’s advertising business, while the behavioral remedies could pressure operations and margins. Tech Watchdogs Criticize Google Adtech Ruling
• Negative Sentiment: Higher rates and AI spending remain risks: The Federal Reserve’s rate increase and Alphabet’s heavy investment in AI infrastructure could keep pressure on free cash flow and valuation, even as Cloud backlog and AI demand remain strong.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482 over the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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