Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors cut its Alphabet stake by 25.9% in the first quarter, selling 16,538 shares and retaining 47,352 shares worth approximately $13.6 million.
• Alphabet continues to receive strong institutional and analyst support: 40.03% of shares are institutionally owned, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $419.86. Insiders, however, sold roughly $16.3 million in stock over the past 90 days.
• Alphabet reported quarterly EPS of $9.11 versus the $2.89 consensus and revenue of $119.8 billion, while shares opened at $354.30. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equal to a 0.2% yield.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 47,352 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,538 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co raised its holdings in Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total transaction of $27,337.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $354.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.60 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.68 and a 200-day moving average of $340.41.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue reportedly increased 82% in the second quarter, with backlog reaching $514 billion, while the Gemini app reached approximately 950 million monthly active users. The results reinforce the commercial demand supporting Alphabet’s AI and cloud investments. Google's AI business is booming, so why are DeepMind's biggest names quitting?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Alphabet’s strong cash generation, balance sheet and valuation relative to its growth prospects. Some market models see the shares reaching $400 as Cloud momentum and AI monetization continue. Price Prediction: Google Will Hit $400 on This Date
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s expanded Google Cloud partnership with AI lab Mirendil, reportedly worth more than $100 million over multiple years, provides another example of demand for its computing infrastructure. Mirendil Google Cloud deal

About Alphabet

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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