Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,768 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $172.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,845,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,970,248. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.86 and a 200-day moving average of $176.45.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.